


Damsels in Distress(?)

by MsDizzyDahlia



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fem!Sides, Individual warnings at the start of every chapter, Minor Character Death, Multi, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsDizzyDahlia/pseuds/MsDizzyDahlia
Summary: Princess Janice and her lady-in-waiting Penny have been kidnapped and are being taken to an enemy kingdom to be held for ransom.Things take a sideways turn when their captors' base is attacked, and the attackers take the two of them with them.Now stuck with a whole new situation, this one not quite as dire but ten times more confusing, Janice and Penny have to figure out how to get back to Janice's parents, and maybe not fall in love with one of their captors along the way?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 26
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Canadiantardis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Ambush](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013183) by [Canadiantardis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/pseuds/Canadiantardis). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penny - Patton  
> Janice - Janus  
> Luna - Logan
> 
> This is a direct continuation of Canadiantardis’s one shot “ The Ambush.” We ended up discussing how we imagined the plot to continue from where she left off, and with her permission, I’ve decided to sit down and write it.
> 
> Please read Cana's story before you read mine!
> 
> Chapter warnings: Kidnapping, mentions of people being used as a bargaining chip, restraints, (very minor) mentions of sexism and homophobia, cursing

Janice really hated being the damsel in this situation. She didn’t like being the damsel, period. But this, she especially hated. If she ever got out of this alive, she was never going to allow herself to fall into another situation like this again. Penny wasn’t fairing well at all, the poor thing was not handling the whole situation well. She was attempting to put up a strong front in front of their captors, but all in all, her poker face was nowhere near as fine tuned as Janice’s. If you looked hard enough, you could see the cracks in her mask.

They were sat in the back of a wagon converted into a carriage, and it was dark, really dark. They hadn’t even allowed Janice the decency of a lantern. The only light was the sunlight that filtered between the wooden boards of the poorly constructed walls. If she had to make a bet, she’d say they modified the wagon specifically for jobs like this.

She was almost certain if she tried hard enough she could break through the door, but there were a few things stopping her. For one thing, the wagon was moving at a fast speed. Trying to jump out now would be stupidly reckless, and would only result in injury, and she didn’t think Penny would take that well. The other thing was… well… These people had horses. And weapons. 

They were physically bigger and stronger than her, as much as she hated to admit it. They’d catch up to them in no time, and then they’d probably be bound to keep it from happening again. She’d like to stay unbound for as long as possible. She didn’t doubt that they’d be tied down when they arrived wherever they were going, but if they could avoid it until they got there… there might be a chance they could escape.

She knew they weren’t above using Penny as a bargaining chip, and there was no way she could do that to her. Their relationship was made complicated by things like status and pressure to marry for advantage, but Janice still loved her. She was lucky her mother fully supported their relationship, and was doing everything in her power to find a way to let Janice be with Penny officially. Her father was… less enthusiastic but no less supportive.

She heard a small noise coming from the other side of the wagon, and she turned her head to see Penny crying softly, her knees pulled up to her chest and her face buried in them. Janice felt her heart jerk around in her chest. She hated when Penny cried. Carefully, she shifted and moved closer to her, reaching out a hand, gently resting it on her knee.

Penny looked up in surprise, and offered Janice a weak smile. She shifted so she was sitting on her knees, just in time for Janice to pull her into a hug. Penny made a surprised squeak before burying her face into Janice’s shoulder, and meanwhile the gears in Janice’s head were already turning.

The chances of one of the men being sympathetic towards them were slim, and as far as Janice had seen, there were no women in the group. It made sense, seeing as Janice had caught a glimpse of a crest on one of their leather armguards. It was the crest of the royal family of Eagra, their neighboring kingdom who they were currently at war with. That man had seemed to not belong in the group, he was clean and well kept whereas the others were dirty and rough. He was most likely there to make sure the bandits didn’t go back on their word.

Eagra was notorious for having incredibly outdated views on women and sexuality, though she knew that the general consensus within the citizens of the kingdom was starting to change. There were rumors circulating that the crown prince himself wanted to change their ways and make peace. 

As of now though, the royal couple of Eagra had no intention of ending the war anytime soon unless it was in their favor. Janice knew that she had most likely been captured to use as a bargaining chip. Janice would like to say that her mother wouldn’t bend to the will of their enemies just because she was at stake but… who was she kidding, she had no doubt her mother wouldn’t hesitate to surrender if it meant getting Janice back. She was a very emotion based queen, which made her a generous and just ruler, but at the same time… she did not fare well under pressure when her loved ones were at stake.

Even if her mother did give Eagra everything they wanted, there was no guarantee Janice would be returned. What was more likely was that Eagra would hold on to her as incentive for her parents’ continued cooperation

_ And they’ll hold onto Penny as incentive for my continued cooperation.  _ She thought bitterly. It wasn’t fair that Penny got caught up in this mess. She didn’t deserve this. More than anything, she had wished the bandits had deemed Penny worthless and tossed her aside. It would have been harsh, but at least Penny would have been okay. And Janice would have had some room to rebel. Not to mention her parents would learn of her disappearance sooner. But it seems that their captors were too smart for that. Or at least, not dumb enough.

The wagon ran over a rut in the road, and both girls lost their balance, falling over while still clinging to one another.

“Ow…” Penny said, sitting back up and rubbing the spot on her head where it had made contact with the solid wooden floor.

“Are you alright?” Janice said, sitting up and hovering over Penny, ignoring the way her own head pounded from being rudely unseated. Was the driver trying to kill them?

Penny grabbed Janice’s wrists gently and lowered them back onto her lap. “I’m fine, Your Highness.” Janice’s eyes widened. There was no way in hell she was okay. Penny only referred to her as “Your highness” when she was particularly upset and trying not to show it. Janice inspected her closely, and realized she could see a trickle of red running down the side of Penny’s face.

“Shit!” Janice said, frantically looking for the wound. There was a small cut along her hairline that thankfully looked superficial. Janice looked around for something to stop the bleeding and came up empty. There was nothing but the two of them in the wagon. She looked down at her dress, already dirty and ruined, and muttered an apology to Luna, who hated when she ruined her dresses.

Quickly, she lifted up the bell sleeve and tore off a strip, wrapping it around her hand a few times before sliding it off and cleaning up the blood running down her face. She then pressed it to the cut, and bit her lip when Penny winced upon contact.

“You really didn’t have to do that for me, Your High- Jan.” Penny whispered. Janice doubted she could talk louder than a whisper if she wanted to. “I don’t think either of us are making it out of here without any injuries at all, and it’s just a small cut.” Janice hated how Penny already sounded like she had given up. She hated even more that Penny was probably right. They’d both be battered by the time this whole ordeal was over.

“Don’t worry.” Janice muttered. “I’m not going to let them hurt you.” She didn’t fully believe that she could, but they had only kept Penny around as a bargaining chip, right? So if she behaved, then Penny wouldn’t get hurt, right? Janice hated to bend to the will of these disgusting men but… if it kept Penny safe, then she could deal with it.

“But what about you? You’ll still get hurt.” Penny said, reaching up and brushing Janice’s cheek where a bruise was forming. She had said something one of the bandits hadn’t liked, and had been punched for her efforts, hard enough that it left a mark.

“Please.” Janice scoffed, sounding more sure than she felt. Which wasn’t really saying anything, considering she wasn’t sure at all. “You have no faith in me. I will be fine. Just let me protect you for once, okay?”

Penny looked like she wanted to argue, but before she could, the wagon jolted to a stop, knocking them both over again and Penny landing right on top of Janice, her glasses smashing against her chest at an angle that couldn’t be comfortable for either of them.

Janice tensed up as she heard the door open, and suddenly light poured in. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, and looking out she saw that the sun was setting. A new sense of dread washed over her. The sun had set on their second day of captivity, and Janice wasn't sure if word of her disappearance had even reached her parents yet. Probably not.

There were two men, one of them was the one Janice had determined to be the ringleader of the group, and the other one was the one she had seen before, the one with the crest painted on his leather armor. Instantly, her face went blank. All of the anger and despair building up in her chest were gone from her expression, leaving it in a neutral tone she knew for a fact infuriated the men. They wanted her to be afraid of them. But she wasn’t. Afraid of what they could and would do? Absolutely. But they were idiots, and she doubted they had a whole brain cell between all of them.

Penny scrambled to get off of Janice and moved to the back of the wagon, pressing her back against the far wall and watching the two of men warily.

“Aww, had a nice ride?” The rougher of the two men asked. It took Janice everything in her not to snarl at him. How dare he talk to her like that? How dare he talk to  _ Penny  _ like that? Still, she kept her mouth shut as the man with the crest reached in and roughly grabbed Janice’s arm. He hauled her out of the wagon where another person was waiting with a length of rope. She did her best not to recoil from it, and didn’t succeed.

In her peripheral vision she could see the man with the crest go in after Penny, and come out a few moments later clutching her by the forearm. She barely even noticed as rope was wrapped around her wrists so tightly she was sure all circulation had just been cut off. It was uncomfortable.

Penny’s hands were also tied together, and Janice thanked whoever was listening that they had tied their hands in front of them and not behind them. This might make it easier to get out of their restraints. Though with how tight they’d tied them…

Janice took a moment to look at their surroundings. It seemed that they had arrived at the bandits’ base, seeing as there were even more of them here than there were at the ambush. They swarmed the area like bugs. It was in the middle of nowhere. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw movement on the outskirts of the clearing, but brushed it off. It was probably just an animal. Probably a bear, but the bandits seemed perfectly capable of taking care of a bear despite their incompetence.

They were still deep in the forest, but Janice knew that if they had continued going in the direction they had been when they had been ambushed, they were getting close to another town. They were still in their own kingdom, she was ninety percent sure that they hadn’t crossed between the wall separating the two kingdoms.

So these bandits were from Janice’s own kingdom, which somehow made her even more angry. Naturally, she knew that she shouldn’t be, these were bandits, they owed no loyalty to either side of the war. Still, there was something infuriating knowing that these men were betraying their own kingdom for the sake of some extra cash.

They were led over to the building, which looked quite frankly, like it was falling apart. A man who looked leaner than the others came up to them. Janice sized him up immediately, and noticed the dagger hanging off his belt. He was most likely not as weak as he first appeared.

“Back so soon?” He said, raising an eyebrow at the leader. “I thought you were heading straight to Eagra.” His tone was deadly calm, and some part of Janice was reminded of Luna, and how she was always the calmest when she was the most furious.

“We had a change of plans.” The leader waved his hand about. “We decided we were going to stop here and restock on supplies. We’ll get going in a day or two. But for now.” He shoved Janice forward. She stumbled over the fabric of her dress and cursed herself for deciding to wear one with such a long skirt. She nearly fell over, but the lean man caught her. He looked down at her with something akin to disdain, and Janice kept her face carefully neutral. “Take these two up to a room. Make sure it doesn’t have any windows.”

The man nodded and grabbed the rope binding Janice’s wrists. He tugged on it, and she was forced to follow, with Penny trotting along behind her. The two were taken up a flight of stairs and down a really long hallway. Finally he stopped in front of a door and fiddled with a ring of keys on his belt before unlocking it and all but throwing her in. Penny followed her in, checking to make sure Janice was okay. Janice wondered if he was going to untie their hands, and her question was answered when the man slammed the door shut.

She heard the sound of the door locking, and she turned around and looked at their temporary accommodations. The room was dirty, and practically empty, aside from a dirty mattress with holes in it and stuffing leaking out. She wrinkled her nose. It smelled like something moved in, had a bunch of babies, and then died.

Penny was shaking again, looking down at the ground, most likely to hide her tears, and chewing on her lower lip so hard Janice was starting to worry she would make it bleed. She walked over to her love and pressed her forehead to Penny’s.

“Hey, hey. It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out.” She whispered. Penny nodded, but it was clear from the look in her eyes that she didn’t believe Janice. The rope shifted uncomfortably against her skin, and she was sure it was going to start bleeding soon. She couldn’t feel her fingers anymore. She had to get it off before then.

She walked over to the mattress and sat down on it, letting out a sigh as the weight of their situation finally set in. They were in the middle of nowhere, who knows how far out from the nearest town, in the hands of bandits, who intended to sell her to Eagra. Great. She looked down at her hands, and started twisting them around, trying to loosen the rope and chafing her wrists.

Penny made a concerned noise and sat down next to Janice, lifting her hands and trying to get her to stop. She failed. Distantly, her mind was telling her that it was pointless. Even if she managed to get free of her bonds, she’d still have to get through the locked door. She’d have to run down a hallway that was filled with people who would not hesitate to hurt her. And there was no guarantee that if they did make it out, they’d be able to find a town, or make it to a guard post before the bandits caught up with them.

But really, she didn’t care at that moment. They had to get out of here, and they had to try, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed. She was going to make it back to her mother no matter what. Even if she didn’t do it for herself, Penny wasn’t going to last long here. She needed to get Penny out of here.

She worked at the ropes for who knows how long, with little success. In the end, she had rubbed her wrists raw and they were bleeding, but the bindings remained as stubborn as ever. Penny was fretting over her, trying to find something to clean up the blood with, but there was hardly anything in the room, and with their hands tied together, there was no way they could use Janice’s sleeves again. They wouldn’t be able to tear it.

At some point, another man came in with more food. It was the same watery stew they had had for three meals straight now, but this time there was a chunk of clearly stale bread. Janice was still loath to eat anything they gave them, there was no telling if it was drugged or not, but she hadn’t eaten since the morning before they started traveling again, and she was hungry.

Penny was too, she could tell, and eating was much more difficult with their hands bound, but they did manage to eat most of it. Afterwards, they began to feel tired, which made sense. Their room had no windows, obviously, but the sun had to be completely gone by now. It was probably late at night by now, and Janice reluctantly admitted to herself that she needed to be alert the next morning, and staying up late would accomplish nothing.

She laid down on the bed, Penny flopping onto her back right beside Janice. Janice offered her a tired smile, and Penny rolled over, pressing right up against Janice and kissing her lightly.

“Goodnight my darling.” Janice whispered when she pulled back. Penny smiled at the pet name and snuggled in closer. Within a few minutes she was asleep. Janice didn’t blame her. It had been a long day for the both of them.

With no blankets, it wasn’t long before the cold creeped in, causing Penny to shiver in her sleep and curl inwards slightly. Janice sighed, and reluctantly tried to fall asleep. It took a long time for sleep to find her, and in the meantime she thought about how she had ended up here. She was going to spend a month with one of her mother’s closest friends to finish up her studies, or so she was told, while her mother figured out what to do about the war. There were rumors of an attack on the capital in the works, and Janice’s mother hadn’t wanted Janice to be there when it happened.

Now that she thought about it, it might have just been a ploy to get her mother to send her away, without her, so that they could ambush her. She wondered just how deep this plot really ran. How long had Eagra been planning this? She shuddered at the thought of everyone back home being played so easily.

There was so much to consider, but she decided to stop thinking about it for today. The silence around her was nearly suffocating. The urge to fill it with something filled her up. She didn’t realize she had started humming until she felt Penny shifting at the sound. Penny had always loved her voice, and even in the dark Janice could see the echoes of a smile on her face. She wrapped her arms around Penny as best she could with her hands tied together, and started humming again. If her hands were free, she would run her hand through Penny’s beautiful golden hair. She kissed the top of her beloved’s head, smiling softly. Some things, at least, were still the same.

By the time sleep had come to claim her, she wanted to stay awake. Stay awake and protect Penny from the people who might try to take her away during the night. But unfortunately, she couldn’t find the willpower to stay conscious. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

-

She awoke to a commotion in the halls. She couldn’t hear exactly what was going on, but it certainly didn’t seem normal. She couldn’t tell if it was day or night, there was no indicator.  _ Maybe we slept through the entire pitstop and now they’re getting ready to move us to Eagra. _ She thought, half amused half genuinely considering it.

Panic spiked through her and she looked down at her arms, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that Penny was still securely tucked between them. But that left the question, what was going on? She looked around the room, trying to see through the dark. It was near impossible, as there was no light leaking in aside from the tiny bit of light coming in from under the door, but she still tried.

Her heart was pounding, and she tuned back into the noises coming from outside. It was quickly beginning to sound like a fight, and hope flared up in her chest. Had the guards somehow discovered her carriage and figured out where she had gone? It was an impossible thought, but it didn’t stop the feeling quickly growing inside of her.

She quickly pushed it down. There was no way the guards had found them that quickly, it was unlikely that the carriage had even been discovered by now. She shook her head. Whatever was going on outside, it didn’t concern them. She rested her head back down on the mattress, letting out a sigh, and told herself to go back to sleep.

Then, through the darkness, somehow, she saw something  _ move _ . It wasn’t something like a mouse either. It was definitely a person, from the dark silhouette. She started to see an outline that was slightly darker than the rest of the room, and her heart sank like a stone. There was a figure standing at the edge of their “bed.” They were tall, whoever they were. Tall and skinny. Their figure looked distinctly feminine, but she couldn’t tell anything else. It was too dark to discern features.

Fear clutched her heart. She instinctively hugged Penny closer. Whoever this was clearly didn’t mean well. They wouldn’t be creeping around in the dark if they did. The figure seemed to tense, realizing that Janice had spotted them. Good, she had caught them off guard. She needed to press her advantage. If this person was about to kill them… it might be better to draw the attention of her and Penny’s captors. She shuddered at the thought.

Briefly she wondered if this was a good idea, perhaps it would be better to die than to go with the men. But she was her mother’s only heir, and she couldn’t do that to her. She knew her mother would be devastated if she died here.

She opened her mouth, and screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the first chapter is done! Hope you like it Cana, I wrote it in a day so there may be a few mistakes but I’m rather proud of it. <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New faces are introduced, Janice and Penny just want to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in two days! Woo!
> 
> I do not expect myself to continue at this upload speed, especially considering I have other obligations in my life and other stories to work on. But I really wanted to get these two chapters out of the way because PLOT. 
> 
> Chapter warnings: Descriptions of violence, kidnapping, being held for ransom, bindings/restraints, blood, being drugged

The figure stared at her for a moment in shock before they darted across the room almost faster than Janice could blink, and shoved a cloth into her mouth, effectively gagging her. Janice made a choked noise, scrunching up her face in an offended expression. Their attacker seemed to assess the situation, looking at Penny in her arms and the bruise on her face, and then slowly brought out something that she couldn’t see in the dark. It was small and thin, like… a needle?

Janice eyed it warily, fear spiking through her. She pulled Penny closer to her, and tried to work the gag out of her mouth.

Unfortunately for their assailant, and (arguably) fortunately for Janice, it seemed that whoever this figure was did not gag Janice fast enough. The door to their room flew open, and light from the lanterns flooded in. The figure turned their head sideways to look at whoever had entered, and Janice took the opportunity to study them. She couldn’t actually tell much because they were wearing a hooded capelet, which blocked out most of their features, but she could see pale skin and a scar running through their eye.

Standing in the door was the Eagran soldier with the crest, his eyes bloodshot from being woken from his sleep and his expression furious. He froze when he saw the other figure in the room, his hand drifting to the sword on his belt, and without a second thought, the figure shifted onto their haunches and lunged at the man, knocking them out into the hall. Janice watched in shock as the figure slammed him up against the wall so hard Janice could hear his neck snap, and then watched them slit his throat for good measure with a knife they had pulled from nowhere. Suddenly she was very glad that Penny was still asleep.

The figure made quick work of the other men who approached them, and soon there were bodies everywhere. Not all of them were dead, but Janice suspected the vast majority of them were more than just unconscious. Another figure approached, but instead of attacking, the first figure seemed to relax.

“Took you long enough.” They said, their voice low and rough.

“Still don’t know why we’re all the way out here, Vi. You know we don’t like coming back here.” The second figure said. This one was distinctly more muscular than the other, a bit taller, and was also wearing a hood.

“Why don’t you see for yourself?” The first figure, Vi, it seemed, jerked their head in the direction of Janice and Penny’s room. The other figure turned their head and locked eyes with Janice, who studied them. Their eyes were hazel, mostly green with flecks of gold and brown mixed in, and ringed around the pupil. She couldn’t discern any other features, seeing as their face was covered with a mask

The new attacker’s eyes widened. “Is that…”

Vi nodded. “It is. Told you it’d be worth it. Now c’mon. I can take the smaller one, but you have to deal with the princess.” Janice pulled back slightly as the figure approached, eyeing them warily but there wasn’t really anything she could do. She was trapped in this room, with two people who were much better at fighting than her, without a weapon, bound and gagged.

The figure continued walking forward, and eventually squatted down in front of them. They took in the situation, and then reached up to remove Janice’s arms from around Penny. Janice drew her in defensively, but the figure was having none of it. They pulled Penny out of her grasp even as Janice made a wounded noise, and handed her off to the other figure, who slung her over their shoulder.

“Alright, I’ll meet you outside. Bekkah’s caused quite the commotion down there.” Vi ran out of the room, and the other attacker pulled out something shiny, thin, and sharp.  _ Another needle _ Janice realized, right before it was plunged into her neck.

She could feel whatever was on the needle take effect immediately. She slumped down, going limp even though she didn’t want to. Black spots started to swarm her vision, and though she fought to stay awake, it was a losing battle.

Vaguely she registered someone lifting her up, and throwing her over their shoulder, but she couldn’t get her body to move, couldn’t get it to respond,  _ why wasn’t her body responding? _ Eventually, she lost the fight to stay awake, and slipped into unconsciousness, unaware of the carnage around her.

~~~~~~

Rosalina stepped outside the base and gazed at the scene before her. Rebekkah was standing over the body of a man she had just knocked unconscious, her fist bloody and his nose pouring blood like a faucet. All around them were men laying on the ground unconscious, in pain, or dead. Her sister’s morning star lay on the ground next to her, and Rosa rolled her eyes at how careless she was being. Still, she said nothing. Bekkah could be as reckless as she wanted, she got the job done.

Violet was waiting at the edge of the clearing for her, the other girl slung over her shoulder. Rosa wasn’t actually sure who she was, all she knew was that for some reason, she was being kept hostage with the  _ princess  _ of Taobh.

Speaking of, Rosa couldn’t believe how lucky they had gotten. She knew Violet had been scoping out the situation here for weeks, and had known something was going on from her little sister’s descriptions of everything that was happening, but she was sure that Vi had a death wish when she told her that they were going to raid this place. They went in with very little planning, and had somehow managed to make it out alive. Her baby sister was cautious, though, and Rosalina was completely confident in her ability to pick and choose the jobs that they could actually pull off.

Rebekkah looked up and grinned ferally at Rosa. She picked up her morning star off the ground and slipped it back onto her belt before running towards Violet. Rosa was always amazed how she managed to run with such a spiky object on her.

She ran towards her two sisters, looking between the two of them. “Do we have everything we came for, Vi?”

Violet nodded. They took off running into the forest, the two carrying the girls being careful not to jostle them around too much.

“I knew something was up when a bunch of these guys left all at once.” Violet said, her voice sounding exhilarated. “Figured I’d stay a little while and see what they were doing. It was worth it, though.” Once they were a decent distance away, they slowed to a walk but continued towards the camp. “Heard they were going to give these two to Eagra so they could use them as a bargaining chip.” 

Rosa and Rebekkah shuddered in sync. “They’re disgusting. Poor girls, I can only imagine what they threatened…” Rosa muttered.

“Ooh, I want to go back now. I need to smash in a few more skulls.” Rebekkah snarled.

Violet sighed. “I do too. But we can’t go back now, not when we have our prize right here. Do you guys understand just how much the royal couple would pay to get their daughter back? We’re a small group, it’s just the three of us, it’ll be all but impossible for the guards to track us down, especially if we stick to the edges of the kingdom.” She grinned. “If we do this right, this could make us rich.”

Rosa smiled at her little sister. “I like that.” She said. She paused, and looked back at Violet. “We’ve gotta be careful with them though. Make sure we don’t hurt or threaten them in any way. They’ve probably been through a lot, they’ll need time to recover.”

Violet wrinkled her nose. “What kind of person do you take me for? Of course we’ll treat them well! They’re people, not animals.” They arrived at the camp, which wasn’t really much of a camp, just a makeshift fire pit and three tents. After a brief debate, they agreed to put them in Rebekkah’s tent, with the understanding that Rebekkah would sleep with Rosa to give them some semblance of privacy.

“I’ll take the first watch tonight.” Violet said. Her tone told her older sisters that there was no room for argument here. They both knew their sister wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight, and at this point, by the time her watch was over it would be morning already.

They placed the princess and the other girl in the tent, and Violet brought out one of her knives, cutting through the restraints and sighing, sitting back on her feet.

“You two can go to bed now. I’ll get some rest in the morning.” She said. Rosalina and Rebekkah looked at one another. They didn’t believe her for a second, but what could be done? Violet does what Violet wants. They couldn’t stop her if they tried.

“Promise?” Rosa said, reaching out a hand and gently resting it on her shoulder.

“Yeah yeah, just go get some sleep.” Violet responded, shrugging off both her hand and her concern. Rosalina bit her lip but left the tent with Rebekkah. The two of them headed back to their now shared tent in silence, partly trying to get rid of the remnants of adrenaline still in their system, and partly trying to get over the uncomfortable tension in the air.

“You really went hard today, Bekkah.” Rosa said quietly. She noticed her twin’s fist tighten ever so slightly.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry. I just… you know how I get when that group gets involved. I… I know why Violet was so excited about it but sometimes it feels like… like she just completely forgets, you know? And… it feels wrong that she should forget, especially when she’s the one who suffered the most.”

Rosa nodded and offered her a sister a sympathetic smile. “You know she just wants what’s best for us. And I don’t think she’s forgotten her trauma so much as she is hiding it. She’s trying to cover it up with adrenaline and excitement. She doesn’t want to talk about it right now and… she really should, but we can’t force her to do anything. You know how she is about emotional vulnerability.” 

Rebekkah snorted. “Yeah, I know. We really need to do something about that, actually. Thanks Ro.” The two of them entered the tent in silence. Rosa laid down on the makeshift bed, trying not to read too much into both of her sisters’ behavior. Seeing that group of bandits again… really shook them all. But it was worth it, she reminded herself. If they pulled this off, they’d never have to steal or work hard for money ever again. They’d never struggle just to get by. Any adventure they participated in, would be their choice. They’d never have to worry again.

~~~~~~

Janice woke up in a completely different setting than the one she had fallen asleep in, which sent fear spiraling throughout her body. She jolted up and started breathing heavily, biting her lip and trying to remember what happened. She remembered… something about someone sneaking into their room and…

The events of last night crashed into her like a horse drawn carriage. Panic shot through her entire being and she looked around her new surroundings, letting out a huge sigh of relief when she saw that Penny’s still unconscious body was right beside hers. She reached out a hand and ran it through Penny’s golden locks.

Then she froze. She could… she could move her hands. She inspected her wrists, to see that yes, the bindings were gone, something she maybe should have noticed earlier but whatever the figures had injected her with apparently had aftereffects. Not only was she untied, but her wrists were wrapped in soft white bandages. She tested out her range of movement with them, and hissed in pain when the raw skin rubbed slightly against the bandages, but all in all they felt much better.

She checked and yep, Penny’s wrists were wrapped in bandages as well, though hers weren’t nearly as damaged as Janice’s. Where were they? She checked around the tent, because they appeared to be in a tent, and saw that they were lying on soft padding, most likely to compensate for the hard ground. The tent was much lighter than their “room,” which made sense. At least she could tell what time of day it was. She took in everything, gazing around the tent and looking for… well she didn’t know what, but she was looking for something. Her gaze settled on something that had been laid by the entrance.

There were two sets of clothing laying by the flap that led out to… who knows where. There was no note attached, no hints at who left it there. They were just sitting there, neatly folded. She cautiously approached them, and picked up one set that appeared to be bigger than the other. She assumed this one was for her.

She quickly and gladly changed out of her ruined dress, hoping to find a fire later to burn it in. Her new outfit was a simple black blouse and comfortable pants that were a bit baggy but otherwise fit just fine.

She had just finished combing through her hair to the best of her ability with her fingers when she heard Penny shifting. She turned around and saw Penny sitting up, groaning and clutching her head.

Penny blinked, staring at Janice, and Janice started to feel a bit self conscious, just like she always did whenever Penny stared at her for any reason, whether good or bad.

“Janice? Where… are we?” She looked around. Janice had to remind herself that Penny had slept through the entire ordeal. She wasn’t sure if Penny had also been drugged or not, but she was pretty sure she had stayed unconscious the entire time. That girl slept like a rock.

Janice shrugged. “I have no idea. I don’t even know what happened… I just remember someone coming into our room, taking out some of the bandits, and then… nothing.” She decided to spare Penny with the gruesome details of what she had really seen.

Penny blinked a couple of times, processing what she had just said. “Oh… well, then… what do we do now?” 

Janice shrugged. She hated feeling helpless. “For one thing, you need to get dressed. Whoever brought us here left us a couple sets of clothing.” She picked up the outfit and tossed it to Penny. She caught it and blushed. “I’ll turn around.”

Penny nodded, and Janice sat back down, facing the entrance of the tent, half to give Penny some privacy and half to guard the entrance. She wasn’t sure if there was anything she could do should their new captors decide to come in, she very vividly remembered what one of them did to all those men, but it still gave her a small feeling of security.

“You can turn back around now, Jan.” Penny called. Janice twisted herself around and stared at Penny. The clothing was not in her style at all, but she did look quite nice in it. It was mostly black, and pretty similar to Janice’s. Hers wasn’t baggy, but Janice did notice she had to roll up the sleeves and cuff the pants. “So… what do we do next?” She asked.

Janice sighed. “For one, we need to figure out who these people are and what they want with us. We’ll go from there.” Penny nodded. Janice turned back to the entrance and stood back up. Cautiously, she reached for the flap and pulled it aside.

Part of her was expecting a guard with a sword or some other weapon to be waiting on the other side, but there was no one. She looked around the entire camp, which was small and hardly qualified as a camp, but she could only see one person. Carefully, she stepped out. Penny followed her.

Janice recognized the silhouette of the person immediately. It was the same skinny, spindly figure that had first snuck into their room. In the broad daylight, she was somehow even more intimidating than the shadowy figure she had been at night.

Her raven hair was shaved on both sides of her head, and a bit longer on top. She had bangs that fell in her face as she worked on sharpening the dagger in her hand, and she had… purple highlights? Her skin was pale, and her outfit looked like it was a collage of several different clothing items, sewn together in a patchwork that looked… frankly it looked really good on her. Janice didn’t know anyone else who would be able to pull off a look like that and- oh. Oh no. She’s  _ hot.  _

Janice glanced over to Penny and saw that she was indeed, blushing furiously. Oh great, that was  _ exactly  _ what they needed, to fall head over heels for one of the people  _ holding them hostage.  _ If that was indeed what they were doing, which Janice was pretty sure it was.

The figure glanced up, and her eyes locked onto Janice. They were a cold and piercing gray, like a wolf. But now, she could see the jagged scar cutting across her left eye in all its glory, the color in that iris slightly faded and paler than her right iris. There was another small scar on the right corner of her mouth that curved upwards, making her look like she was constantly smirking.

The girl stood up, and moved towards them. She was quick and quiet, moving with a deadly grace very few could pull off. This girl was clearly very used to working in the shadows.

“I see you’re awake.” She said, a smirk on her face. “How are you feeling?” Whatever question Janice had been expecting, it was  _ not  _ that. She kept her face carefully blank, and felt Penny intertwine their hands.

“All things considered… we are fine.” Janice said, careful with every word that left her mouth. The girl’s eyes flicked between the two of them, and she raised an eyebrow.

“I suppose that’s fair. Considering who you were kidnapped by, I was surprised your condition wasn't much worse.” She said it like she was talking about the weather instead of the potential being tortured. “I suppose you have a lot of questions.” She said, her voice smooth.

Janice narrowed her eyes. “...That we do.” She said, suspiciously. The figure started walking back towards the fire pit, motioning for them to follow. They did, cautiously.

“Well, let’s see, then.” She said sitting down on one of the stones. Janice and Penny sat down next to one another, across from the pit to put as much distance between them as possible. “What do you want to know?”

“Who are you?” Janice said without hesitation. She didn’t expect to actually get an answer out of it, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

“Oh! Where are my manners!” The girl said instead of turning the question down. “You may call me Violet. And I know who you are, princess, but… I’m not quite sure of your companion.” She turned her gaze to Penny. Janice was shocked. This Violet had managed to completely throw her for a loop, a truly remarkable feat. Then again, there was nothing saying that Violet was her real name at all.

“Um… you can call me Penny.” Penny whispered. Janice wondered if Violet was going to ask her to speak up, but she seemed to hear her perfectly fine.

“Lovely to meet you, Penny.” She said, tilting her head to the side and smiling. Her face was missing the mask it had worn before, and Janice (begrudgingly) had to admit that she had a nice smile.

“What happened? Where are we? What do you intend to do with us?” Janice asked, rapidfire, getting back on the subject. They were only talking to this girl for answers, no matter how pretty she might be.

Violet laughed. “Well, my sisters and I attacked the base where you two were being held. I figured they were up to something when a bunch of them left all at once. Then they returned with you two, so we decided to take advantage of that. As for where we are? I’m not sure I could give you an exact location. But we are still in Taobh, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Janice let out a breath of relief. At least they were still in her own kingdom.

Then she hardened again. “And my other question?” She asked, pouring all the venom into her voice she could.

Violet hummed. “Well, we aren’t entirely sure yet. But we’ll probably ransom you back to your parents and then we can all forget this entire thing ever happened.”

Janice raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

Violet shrugged. “Well, yes. We aren’t monsters.” Janice raised an eyebrow. Violet returned it with an unimpressed look. “I think you’ll find that you prefer us to the people that held you captive before.”

“Touche.” Janice looked at Penny beside her, reaching down and squeezing her hand. “And… Why leave us unbound and unguarded? Do you realize how easily we could escape from here?”

Violet seemed to genuinely think it over for a second, before shrugging once more, acting incredibly nonchalant for someone who was keeping the princess of Taobh captive. “Well, yeah, I mean, you could, but let’s be real. Even if you actually manage to sneak past me and leave the camp, you’d still be stuck in the middle of nowhere. I doubt you have the entire woods mapped out in your head like I do. You wouldn’t last very long. But if you’d prefer to try roughing it out there by yourselves, who knows how far from the nearest guard post, town, or person, be my guest. But I think we both know which option you’ll choose.” She said, a smug smile on her face.

Janice opened her mouth to argue, but… Violet was right. They were in the middle of nowhere. There was no guarantee they’d make it out there alive, and there were many dangers that, being raised in a court, Janice didn’t know how to handle. She kept her expression blank, though. She refused to give away her emotions.

The smugness suddenly fell from Violet’s face, and she sighed. “Look, I know this situation isn’t ideal for either of you. I have no doubt you want nothing more than to go back home, and I promise, we will get you back home. We just… want to profit from it a little. Living on our own isn’t exactly easy, we don’t really have a home or a place to go, so… yeah. We know that you’ve probably been through a lot these past couple of days. My sisters and I are unfortunately very familiar with that group. We don’t want to be like them, so… you guys are free to wander the camp. And, if you ever want to go into the forest for whatever reason, I suggest you take one of us with you so you don’t end up getting lost. Just… trust us on this okay?”

Janice almost laughed. The idea of trusting the people holding her hostage was ludicrous, she was doubtful that they’d keep their word and take her home when the ransom was paid. But… they already had Janice hostage. They had no reason to lie about their intentions unless they wanted to be needlessly cruel, and everything that had happened with them so far had told Janice that that wasn’t the case.

It was difficult to fake the level of honesty in Violet’s tone and facial expression. Janice was incredibly adept at reading peoples’ emotions, which was part of the reason she was so good at hiding her own. She could tell when someone was being dishonest, and Violet didn’t seem to be lying. So either Violet was a really good actor… or she was being genuine. Clearly taking someone hostage was not the best way to go about improving one’s life, but Janice supposed she could understand why they were doing it at the very least.

But… what did they do from here? It could be weeks before they figured out this whole mess. She didn’t want her mother to worry. There was no way to contact her though… all the way out here. There were no messengers, no people. Did these people even have a plan? No… no they were opportunists. Violet said it herself. They saw the two of them arrive and decided to take action. They were probably still working out the details.

Of course, it was just her luck that she and Penny would be taken by amateurs. Although… She remembered the way Violet took out several men who were much bigger than her all by herself. Maybe amateurs wasn’t the right word.

On the flip side, this situation didn’t seem quite as dire as the previous one, and she wasn’t going to be sold to Eagra at the very least. So… maybe… she could make the best of this situation while she was here. She looked back up and saw that Violet was staring at her with a surprisingly sympathetic look. She said… they were familiar with the group that had kidnapped them. Perhaps they had once been in a similar situation as them?

“Okay.” She said. She was going to have to take a risk this time. Penny was staring at her with a surprised look on her face. She squeezed her hand again and offered her beloved a gentle smile. “We’ll be okay.” She had said those three words more than a couple times over the last two days. But this was the first time, in all that time, that she had actually meant it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O-kay. There we go. Violet's character design is kind of my latest obsession. Next chapter we get to officially meet the twins and MORE PLOT.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Emotions are the bane of my existence"
> 
> -Violet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: Mentions of being held for ransom, cursing, past non-consensual touching (only briefly mentioned)
> 
> (Tell me if I missed something)

Janice and Penny continued talking with Violet for a while, and it was nice. She seemed like a really pleasant person, kind and funny and laid back, which largely contradicted the image in Janice’s head that Violet’s first impression had made. She was sure that she was never going to forget that night as long as she lived. Violet was always careful about her words, purposefully avoided topics that might trigger them, and never attempted to move closer or draw any information out of them. She was just… talking to them. It was comforting, to just casually talk to another woman like this. Janice hadn’t realized how much she missed it.

Eventually, after discussing multiple topics such as fashion choices, books, and hobbies, they heard the sounds crashing through the trees. It was big, and the voices they started to hear confirmed that whoever was approaching were indeed humans. Janice and Penny tensed up, wondering if they had been found, but Violet didn’t appear bothered at all. In fact, she seemed to perk up, her eyes shining with excitement. Two figures burst through into the clearing, dragging a dead deer behind them. They were clearly twins, they looked nearly identical, though one of them had a bleached streak running through her hair.

They had milk chocolate skin and sturdy builds, both clearly very strong and definitely warriors at heart. They had amber eyes, and a mess of corkscrews a shade of brown so dark they were almost black that bounced as they moved. One of them had their hair pulled back into a very loose ponytail, and she seemed to be playing with it.

Violet shot to her feet, running across the clearing and tackling the one not holding the deer to the ground with a cry of joy. It was sloppy, there was no form behind it, and was completely different from the way she tackled the Eagran guard.

“Welcome back.” She said, getting up and offering a hand to the one on the ground. “Our guests have awoken.”

“So we can see.” The one with the bleached hairstreak said. “Well then, I suppose some introductions are in order. You can call me Rebekkah. Or- just Bekkah if it’s too long for you. We all go by nicknames for the most part.”

The one with her hair in a ponytail spoke up next. “And you can call me Rosalina. Or Rosa, I go by both, and I don’t really care much, but Rosa is less of a mouthful.” She offered a bright smile.

Penny offered her a tentative smile in return. “Well, I’m Penny. And… and this is Janice.” Janice offered a two fingered salute that somehow managed to be casual and cautious at the same time.

“Nice to meet you. Officially, that is.” Rebekkah said. Penny giggled a little.

“These are my older sisters.” Violet said, gesturing to the twins. “We met during a very… rough point in my life and they helped me through it. We haven’t left each others’ sides since.” 

Janice smiled calmly. “It’s nice to meet you, then. I do hope we can get along. Your sister has explained the situation to us, so hopefully we’ll be able to go home soon. My parents have most likely heard of our disappearance by now, so they must be very worried.”

Rosa nodded. “We hope so too. Are you two… alright though? I know Violet said she patched up any injuries she saw on the surface, but I mean we can never be too careful about internal bleeding, and Vi didn’t want to be too intrusive with her inspection. So if there’s anything she missed, don’t hesitate to tell us. Injuries left untreated can be… rough.” She shivered, as if remembering something, and Violet snorted.

“Ah yes, the infamous wolf bite.” She said, giggling a bit. Rebekkah outright laughed, throwing her head back even as Rosa glared at the both of them.

Janice took a moment to focus inward to see if there were any painful sensations that needed to be brought to light, but other than the little remaining pain in her wrists, there wasn’t much but a few bruises, which would heal on their own.

Penny also shook her head, shrugging without really saying anything. Violet nodded. Janice laced her fingers with Penny’s subtly, and looked down at her with adoring eyes. In her periphery vision she could see the twins exchanging looks and then smirking at the two of them, clearly catching on to their not-really-a-secret-but-still-acting-like-it’s-secret relationship. She tugged Penny just a bit closer to her and looked back, surprised to see Violet staring at them with an unreadable expression.

“I’m going to skin the deer now.” Rebekkah said suddenly, stretching her arms over her head. “Care to join me sister dear?” She said, inclining her head towards Violet. Violet hesitated before nodding, and the two of them headed back to the firepit. That left Rosa with the two of them.

“So, have you guys ever explored the woods before?”

~

It hadn’t been that long, barely over a week, only eight days, to be honest. Yet Violet was already having second thoughts on their ransom plan. It was just- watching the two of them interact, so clearly in love and free to express that, really struck a chord somewhere in her. Their relationship was exactly the kind of thing she had wanted so badly before… before  _ him. _ After him, she had wanted nothing to do with romance for so long. She still sometimes felt him there, felt the way his hands ghosted across her skin, felt the way he whispered about how beautiful she was in her ear.

She shivered. After him… she hadn’t felt any feelings towards anyone for a very long time. She never wanted to be put in a position like that again, and even though Rosa assured her that that was  _ not _ what a normal relationship looked like… she really didn’t know what a proper romance was supposed to be. 

Granted, she wasn’t really around anyone other than the twins long enough to develop any sort of feelings. They hardly ever stayed in town for more than a couple of days, and they tried to keep their heads down and interact with as few people as possible when they were there. They didn’t know who was working for a bandit group, and therefore didn’t know who would try to turn them in for the bounty on their heads.

Watching Janice and Penny… she wanted to be a part of that. Maybe not a part of their relationship specifically, but a part of a relationship like theirs. One where both parties were willing to care for one another and make sacrifices for the sake of keeping the other safe. Of course, she had the twins, and their love had done so much for her and taken her so far. She was eternally grateful that they had come into her life when they had. She knew that without them, she would never have gotten to where she was today. But there was still that empty void, a piece of her soul that had been ripped out by Him and never replaced.

She had thought that He had taken said part of her away and destroyed it, but really, he had just buried it under all of her emotional baggage. Now, it was surfacing, and it was absolutely beautiful.

Of course, Rosa and Bekkah had noticed the change in her behavior immediately, and had latched onto it, teasing her relentlessly. They insisted that she had a crush on their guests, but really, she didn’t! There was no way that was true, she had only met them a few days ago for heaven’s sake! She didn’t even know them that well!

But… she wanted to. And she wasn’t exactly sure why. She had never really actively wanted to interact with anyone. Even with the twins, they had had to approach her first, otherwise she probably never would have talked to them. But with these two she actually wanted to talk to, hang out with them, impress them. Maybe it was because they were the first new people that were actually sticking around, whether willingly or not, in a while. Yeah, that was probably it. Probably.

With each passing day, she felt more and more guilty about keeping them here. More guilty about using them for personal gain. She felt the guilt every time she listened to Penny talk about their friends back home. She felt it every time she saw Janice and Penny clinging on to one another like they were in the middle of the ocean, and the other was a piece of driftwood. She felt it every time she saw Janice’s bruise, or their wrists, and knew that no matter how well they treated them, they still had the same selfish motivations as their previous captors.

And she knew, she  _ knew _ , how cruel that group could be. Especially their leader. Hell, she had experienced their cruelty firsthand! And after everything they had been through, it just felt… so wrong to keep them from their home. Wrong to keep them from their lives. Word of the princess’s disappearance had almost certainly reached the king and queen by now. She knew they were probably worried out of their minds. The queen was known to lead with her emotions. This would probably wreck her.

“You’re having second thoughts, aren’t you Vi?” Rosa asked, causing Violet to jump. She really needed to step up her game, if she was distracted enough not to notice her sister approaching her. Rosa was leaned up against a tree, her coils tied up in a messy bun. 

“What are you talking about?” Violet tried for a scoff, but it fell embarrassingly short. It was just barely not a squeak. Or maybe it was a squeak, but she would never admit that.

Rosa rolled her eyes. “About the princess. You’re thinking about whether or not it’s right to keep them here.” Violet considered denying it, but she knew it was a pointless venture. Her sisters always knew when she was upset.

She shrugged. “I just keep thinking about what they’ve been through. You know how that group can be. Even if they aren’t as big of a threat as they were when we were still a part of it, they’re still needlessly cruel, especially to defenseless women. Perhaps even more so, since they are trying to climb their way back to the top.”

“That’s not going to happen anytime soon. We made sure of that.” Rosa said quickly. She then let out a sigh. “Look, yeah I get it. I… I have to admit it’s difficult not to feel some sort of guilt and sympathy towards them. We all know what it’s like to be ripped away from our family suddenly. If… if you would like, we could take them back. Without the ransom, if it would make you feel better. I know that it certainly would make me feel better.”

“Yeah… I really want to take them back. I don’t… I don’t know though. I just… I need more time to think about it? And… I guess it’s kind of different for me though, isn’t it?” Violet said. “I always knew that I was going to end up working for those guys. My dad made sure that I knew that that was going to be my future. You guys ended up there by pure luck. So I mean, you had it worse.”

“Stop.” Rosa said, scowling. “Vi, we’ve talked about this. Do  _ not _ downplay your own suffering. Yeah, our situation was different from yours, but that doesn’t mean yours wasn’t also bad. It’s not good to invalidate your own trauma simply because ‘others have it worse.’”

Violet threw her hands in the air. “Gah! I should be over this already! It’s been two years, really, shouldn’t I have moved on? I’m not there anymore, I have you and Bekkah, and this life that we’re living. It’s harsh, but it’s the most free I’ve ever been. I should be happy!”

“That’s not how trauma works, Vi.” Rosa said softly. She pushed herself off of the tree and walked to Violet. “It won’t get better if you don’t talk about it.”

Violet stepped back. “I’m going to see what Janice and Penny are up to.” She turned and quickly walked away, keeping her head down and ignoring Rosa when her sister called her name. She really didn’t want to talk about this right now. Or… really ever.

Rosa seemed to realize that she wasn’t going to turn back around, and tried something else. “Bring Bekkah back here so we can talk about what we’re going to do with the princess!” Rosa called after her. Violet didn’t respond. She wanted to help Janice and Penny, wanted to see them safely home. She… she admittedly still did want something out of it, but… as the days passed, she found the selfish desire sort of just… being consumed by her… other emotions towards the girls. The emotions that she couldn’t really name. (that was a lie. She could name them. She just didn’t want to.) 

She wandered over to where Rebekkah was talking to the princess and Penny enthusiastically, describing a kind of algae that was bioluminescent and glowed all sorts of colors in the dark. Violet had heard of it, but truthfully she had never seen it. She wanted to at some point, and Rebekkah had agreed to take her sometime.

Penny was listening raptly, as if hanging off every word, while Janice was keeping a carefully neutral face, though Violet could see just the slightest hint of interest in her eyes. The way her lips curled upwards ever so slightly. It was nice to see that they were getting along at least.

Penny seemed to sense her approach, and turned her head to face Violet. Violet saw the exact moment when Penny recognized her. Her eyes sparked with recognition, and then her whole face lit up, all at once, like the colorful lights that decorated the streets of every town on Winter Solstice. Janice turned her head when she saw Penny look away and didn’t even bother with trying to hide her smile.

And wasn’t that just something? Janice was careful about expressing her emotions. Violet supposed growing up in a court that would be a useful skill. And then, just over a week since they had been brought here and met Violet, they were already letting down their guards around her. It was amazing how both girls’ smiles stirred something within her.

They were as different as two people could possibly be. Janice was all sharp edges and sass. She took joy in confusing and frustrating people, and wore darker, heavier clothing, even when the sun was glaring down at her. Her hair was always up and out of her face when possible. Penny on the other hand prided herself on making people smile. Whenever she made Violet or one of the twins laugh from one of her puns, her eyes would shine like she had made some great accomplishment. She preferred lighter colors and light and airy fabrics, and the fanciest she ever got with her hair was a messy bun.

And yet they had somehow managed to fall for one another, moving past their differences to develop something truly beautiful. The kind of thing that Violet yearned for, yet knew she would never manage to find. Even if she didn’t have her own reservations, other people usually did. The scars were often off putting for many people, her hairstyle was different, and her clothing choices were unusual. She had been told her smile was unsettling, the scar on her mouth giving it a crooked appearance, which made it look deranged.

Even if her appearance wasn’t enough to drive people off, her personality usually was. The twins had been an exception, and she… well she had been very different back then. Now she was rude, obnoxious, hostile, aggressive, nothing that anyone wanted in a partner.

Yet here was Penny and Janice, smiling at her like she was the most beautiful person in the world. It felt nice, even if they couldn’t possibly like her for real.

“Violet!” Penny called, jumping up and dusting herself off before running over to her, stopping just short of a hug. Instead she took her hands, her smile somehow getting even bigger. “Where have you been?”

Violet smiled a bit, careful not to let it grow too big lest she frighten Penny. “I’ve just been talking with Rosa about what our next step should be.” Penny’s smile faltered for a second, and Janice’s placid grin dimmed at the reminder of why they were actually in the camp to begin with, but Violet paid no mind to it.

“Which is…?” Janice said.

Violet took a deep breath. “I need to talk to Rebekkah about it alone first. Then we’ll tell you.” Janice gave her a skeptical look, raising an eyebrow, though the smirk never fully left her face. “We aren’t going to do anything without telling you guys about it first. We want you to know what’s going on.”

Janice nodded. “I… appreciate it.” Violet offered her a closed lip smile. She was always really careful about who she smiled around, and many who met her were convinced that she didn’t smile at all. Rosa and Bekkah liked to tease her about it, but Violet just didn’t want anyone to get creeped out by it.

She remembered before her… scars… she had been told that her smile was beautiful. She had been told that by many people, her father, her mother, her older brother… all of her old friends had told her that she had a beautiful smile. She had prided herself in it, smiled often, just to make people’s day a little bit better.

Not any more. Not since her smile had attracted Him.

“I… Bekkah?” She shook her thoughts off and pulled her hands out of Penny’s, who gave her a confused and slightly concerned look. Rebekkah stood up and walked over to her, ruffling her hair and giving her a feral grin. Violet couldn’t count the number of times one of her sisters had done that to her. Yet she had never gotten used to it entirely. Her family had never been so rough with her, had never roughoused with her or played anything more intense than tag. They had always treated her like a delicate little flower. She still wasn’t sure if she liked it or not, but she knew that it was one of the ways her sisters showed affection, and she certainly didn’t hate it.

“Let’s go VeeVee.” Bekkah said, starting to walk away from the princess and Penny, slipping her hand into Violet’s and pulling her along back towards Rosa.

-

So as it turns out, Bekkah was totally on board with just taking Janice and Penny back to the castle without the ransom part. Why, Violet wasn’t sure, but nothing about Bekkah ever really made sense, so it was whatever.

Violet had been pacing around the forest, trying to sort through the complicated riot of emotions and also plotting. She wasn’t quite sure yet, how they were going to get the princess back home. After all, in order to pull this off they would have to head straight into the heart of the capital. Once the queen and king heard about what had happened, Violet doubted they would look very kindly upon them. She knew that as soon as they got the princess back to her parents, they were  _ bolting. _

Rosa and Bekkah were already talking with the girls, most likely sharing the news. Janice, as always, showed zero emotion, while Penny’s face was so filled with emotions she couldn’t pick a single one out in that chaotic mess.

“Hello Violet.” Janice said when she noticed her approaching. “Your sisters have informed me that you will be taking us home. Is this true?” Her voice was cautious, yet there was some underlying hope beneath the suspicion.

Violet nodded. “We… we’ve decided we’re going to take you two home. The ransom thing is kind of pointless anyway. We’d all feel bad if we kept you here for longer than necessary for our own personal gain.” She sighed and brought a hand up to her face to touch the scar running through her eye. “You’ve been through enough shit. We don’t need to add onto that.”

“You haven’t been adding onto it though. You’ve said it yourself, we much prefer you three to the people who had us before.” Janice said, her lips quirking up almost into a smirk. Violet chewed on her lower lip, unsure of how to explain exactly what was going on in her head. Thankfully she was saved by someone else.

“We’re going home!” Penny shrieked, full on launching herself at Violet and knocking them both to the ground. “Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!” Violet was slightly alarmed to see that tears were running down her face.

Violet awkwardly patted Penny’s head. “Uh… you’re welcome? Honestly we should have done it before now, we shouldn’t have even considered the ransom, it was… it wasn’t…” Violet could feel her face burning. No one ever wanted to touch her besides her sisters, they were all too intimidated by them. Speaking of her sisters, both of them were looking at her with knowing looks in their eyes.

She glared at them, but the smugness in their expressions didn’t leave their faces. She really hated them right now. As soon as they were out of earshot she had no idea that the two of them would never shut up. Penny got up and pulled Violet back on her feet, her hands moving down to take one of Violet’s. Violet got the impression that it was an instinctual thing, one that she probably did with everyone.

Janice was looking between her and Penny with an unreadable expression, but it looked like she was… assessing them? What was she assessing? Violet didn’t get a chance to answer, though, because Rosa interrupted her thoughts.

“We still need to figure out how to get back there and where we’re going to go after we drop you two off.” She said, shrugging. “But it’s about time you girls went home. I can only imagine how worried your parents are.” 

Janice allowed a smile to slip through her mask. It was small, barely even noticeable, really, but it held so much emotion. It was probably the most genuine emotion Violet had seen from her yet, aside from her love towards Penny.  
“Thank you.” She whispered. Neither of the twins were answering, and it was then that Violet realized she was making direct eye contact with her. She was talking directly to Violet.

“...You’re welcome.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought I was going to drag this ransom thing out? HA. 
> 
> To be honest the more interesting parts of the story come when they're on their way back to the palace, and I wanted to get to the part where Violet starts to bond with the girls faster, so then we can get into her backstory and trauma.
> 
> I'm very excited to get to that part, because she'll finally be opening up and talking to someone about it, and getting over her fear of emotional intimacy. But it's still a good ways off, so we'll get there when we get there.
> 
> It was a bit difficult for me to choose whether or not I wanted the twins and Violet to be biological siblings or siblings in everything but blood. Each option had a unique backstory for them all, but I started to favor the option that came with them being not related by blood, which is Rosa and Rebekkah met her later in life and helped her through a particularly low point in her life. 
> 
> I'm not exactly sure how big of a role they're going to have in this story, I'm sure it'll be decent but the main focus is definitely on our favorite throuple. But I do maybe sort of have a sequel planned that focuses more on their life after Janice and Penny are returned to the castle that will focus more on the twins.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janice and Penny bond with Violet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks, sorry it's been so long. I've been a little less productive than I would have liked as of late. But I'm back, and I haven't abandoned this story, not by a long shot, don't worry :)
> 
> Chapter warnings: Swearing, extremely brief mention of non-consensual touching

Traveling did not get off to a very good start. Right off the bat they realized that the bandit group was still very much looking for them, when they almost ran right into one of them while passing through a town for supplies. They managed to keep their heads down and avoid an all out confrontation, but the guy did make an unsavory comment about Penny. Janice had very nearly avoided slapping his face until it was numb, but she had settled for taking her hand and informing him that Penny was not, in fact, single. Violet told her later that she had nearly put a knife through his throat right then and there.

The look on his face was priceless. After that almost disaster, they agreed that it would be better to interact with as few people as possible, and not leave the inn room where they were staying unless it was out of necessity.

Violet, Rebekkah, and Rosa seemed fine to walk the entire way on foot, until Janice reminded them of how far away the capital actually was from where they were, and that it would probably be best to at least try to snag a few horses. So they ended up buying a few, with money that the twins apparently had time to steal from the bandits between hauling Janice and Penny out of there like cargo and absolutely massacring the entire group.

There was a bit of a debate about whether or not they should be using the more popular, well used roads or the back roads, because on the one hand bigger more popular roads were more likely to get them spotted by the guard, but on the other hand, the back roads were probably what the bandits were expecting them to choose. In the end, they chose to go with the popular roads, on the grounds that they were faster, and the bandits probably didn’t have enough men to watch the entire thing.

Oh yeah, the guard. After a bit of discussion, Janice and Penny agreed not to alert the guard of their presence. Violet was worried about being arrested, apparently, and while Janice tried to explain that she wouldn’t let that happen, she did eventually concede to the point that a big traveling entourage might draw attention that they didn’t want, and being with guards didn’t guarantee their safety. After all, there had been guards escorting them when Janice and Penny had been taken in the first place, and they were all dead now.

So they found themselves traveling from town to town on horseback, hardly speaking to anyone, and slowly making their way back to the capital. Some nights they still had to sleep in the forest, whether it be that they were nowhere near the next village, or the fact that the bandit group was in fact in that town looking for them.

Those nights, Janice didn’t sleep very well. While in the town, there were at least guards, and even if she didn’t want to draw their attention, if the bandits found them and tried to attack, they at least had some form of protection. But here in the forest, while they were hidden better, it would be much harder to get away on the off chance that they were found. Everything about their situation stressed her out, and Penny immediately caught onto it. Every time she saw Janice on the verge of a nervous breakdown, she would come up beside her and rest her head on her shoulder, squeezing Janice’s forearm reassuringly.

Sometimes they would kiss, other times they would do nothing but sit in silence as they tried not to let the emotions from this traumatic event consume them. Penny was almost always by her side, unwilling to leave. The key word being almost.

Janice flopped down on the bed in the newest inn they had just arrived at. Penny and the twins had gone out to the market to buy supplies. Penny had been reluctant to leave, but Janice insisted. Penny was a social person, she needed to be around other people, and switching between towns without talking to anyone was really starting to wear on her. So she had left with the twins, and that left Violet and Janice alone.

Don’t get her wrong, she didn’t mind being alone with Violet, she was a nice girl who made Janice feel all sorts of things, but there was sort of an… uncrossable distance between her and the rest of the world. Sometimes it felt like she wasn’t all there, that there was a part of her that was just… gone. Janice wasn’t exactly sure how to explain it, but that didn’t stop it from being there in the first place.

So the silence between the two of them was a little awkward, but still silence, and that… well, Janice usually loved the quiet, but now it just gave her more and more time to think about their situation. She did her best to push her feelings away, because they were complicated and she didn’t want to focus on them right now. She could process them when she was back at the palace, but right now they were still in the middle of it, so it wasn’t the best time.

But the problem with having a girlfriend who was so in tune with their emotions was that you needed to be careful about what emotions you let them see. Penny didn’t like it when she downplayed her own emotions, but really, what choice did she have? Penny’s emotional health had been steadily declining since this whole situation began and yeah, it was starting to get a little better, but how could Janice possibly focus on herself right now when Penny was suffering? It was maddening.

Violet was sitting backwards on the only chair in the room, idly twirling one of her knives around in her fingers. The motion was practiced, smooth, to the point where it was actually a little scary that she could do it so casually. Violet glanced over at her and their gazes met accidentally. Janice almost looked away, but there was something questioning in those intense gray eyes, the paler of the two almost seeing straight through her.

“Is something the matter?” Janice asked lightly, trying for aloofness. She wasn’t a huge fan of the way Violet stared at her as if internally psychoanalyzing her.

“I could ask you the same thing, Princess.” Violet said, leaning back a bit and quirking her lips ever so slightly. It was a casual gesture, though from the way Janice could see that it was forced, it was being used to disguise another emotion.

“I am perfectly fine.” Janice said quickly, looking away. Violet’s smirk fell away as her lips curved downwards in a frown. “There is no need for concern.”

“Yeah no, I”m calling bullshit.” Violet replied almost immediately. “Something’s up with you. And something has been up with you for the past few days. I know that look, that’s the look you put on whenever you’re trying to hide something.”

Janice scoffed “I hardly think you know me well enough to know when I’m trying to hide something”

Violet let out a short breath. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. But if you really think I don’t know what someone trying to conceal their emotions to avoid letting them spill all over the place looks like, you’ve got another thing coming. Hell, I use that face all the time. So yeah, something’s up. What’s going on with you, Princess?”

Janice frowned. “I’ve told you to just call me Janice.”

“I know. It’s more a nickname at this point than it is an actual title to me. And besides, you are blatantly deflecting.”

The corners of Janice’s mouth tugged upwards a bit. “Not many people can recognize deflecting just like that.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got my own shit going on. I know what someone trying to avoid their problems looks like.”

Janice decided not to comment, seeing as Violet would just call her out for shifting the topic of conversation to something else. “I guess I’m just… overwhelmed. I suppose it’s a reasonable reaction, given everything that has happened. I’m glad we’re heading home, but now that we aren’t in immediate danger… I think everything that’s been happening has finally caught up with me.”

“That’s fair.” Violet said, resting her arms on the back of the chair and setting her chin down on them. “That kind of thing is the kind that leaves a lasting impression.”

Janice looked at her thoughtfully. “You said before that you and your sisters were very familiar with that group of bandits. Were you… were you also taken by them?” Violet stiffened ever so slightly, and to most people, she would still look as casual as ever, but Janice wasn’t fooled.

“It- it’s not important. It’s complicated and a long story and just generally a waste of time, so don’t worry about it.” She said, quickly looking away. “Just know that it’s okay that you’re feeling overwhelmed. Don’t downplay it just because someone else might be hurting more than you. And hey, if you ever want to talk about it, I’m always here.”

~~~~~~

Violet was a hypocrite. The thing is, she knew, she  _ knew _ , that what she was doing wasn’t healthy. She knew that dowplaying her own trauma, bottling it up inside, telling herself that she shouldn’t feel this way, and none of that was good for her. Hell, she had just told Janice not to do that herself!

But… it was just so hard to open up. She wanted to talk to somebody about what had happened but… everytime she tried, her throat closed up, fear of being taken advantage of again creeped back in, and all she could see was His face, sneering down at her and telling her that she was being pathetic. These issues had been the source of more than one mental breakdown, actually. And Rosa and Rebekkah, her loving, adoring sisters who meant the absolute word to her, were always there, offering to help talk through it, offering to help carry her burden, if she would only let them in.

And she  _ wanted _ to let them in, she really did. She just… couldn’t. It was just so scary, letting someone see her so vulnerable, and after what He did to her… she shuddered. Never again. Allowing herself to be vulnerable was willingly showing weakness, even some small part of her whispered in the back of her mind that her sisters would never take advantage of her like that. And so, here she was, telling someone that it was okay to feel things, telling them not to hide it and push it down even when she was doing the same thing at that very moment.

She sighed and just shook off the thoughts. Right now, Janice was the one having a hard time, and the one that needed help. She shouldn’t make it about herself.

“Do you think…” Janice continued, either not noticing the way Violet had fallen too silent or politely not commenting on it. “That my parents have sent out search parties? At the very least, they’ve probably alerted almost every guard in the kingdom to my disappearance. I doubt they’ve made an official announcement about it though, that could endanger me, and my mother is smarter than that.”

“From what I’ve heard about the queen, I imagine that’s the case.” Violet said. “She’s a good ruler. The people love her.”

Janice laughed softly. “Yeah, she’s very compassionate. Always willing to listen to people’s stories before she judges them. But she can be a bit weak to sob stories. Some people have tried to take advantage of that before and used a fake story to get out of being punished for crimes. Luckily my father is always there to ground her, and I’m very good at telling when people are lying. Everyone has their tells, and it’s easy to identify them most of the time. It was an arranged marriage, you know, but they get along wonderfully. Both my mother and my father have their own lovers, not that they’d admit it to the general public, but it’s never gotten in the way.”

Violet smiled softly. “I’m glad. Not all forced marriages turn out that way.” Damn! Why on Earth would she say that? Again, His face flashed before her eyes, his sickeningly sweet smile, his false gentle touches that quickly turned into harsh and damaging ones. She chewed her lower lip, trying to squash the memory.

Janice definitely seemed to notice her zoning out this time, but thankfully decided not to mention it. The two of them lapsed back into silence, but Violet snuck glances at the princess when she wasn’t looking. Even now, she somehow managed to look regal, the sunlight streaming in through the window framing her figure and making her look like a goddess. The princess was gorgeous. She felt the heat that was becoming much too familiar to her rise to her face as she thought that.

The two of them didn’t say anything, but the silence was much more comfortable this time. A little awkward, but otherwise nice. Violet tapped her fingers against the back of the chair, and let herself relax a little.

~~~~~~~

The next day they left the town once more, and a few days later, they were still in the middle of the forest. Violet had estimated that they were going to arrive in the next town within another day of travel, but as of now, they were still sleeping in the forest. Penny woke up earlier than she usually did, the beginnings of the sunrise just beginning to show over the horizons. Janice was still asleep beside her, peacefully oblivious to Penny’s inner turmoil, though she did whine a little in her sleep when Penny slipped out of her grasp.

“Shhh, it’s alright Jan.” Penny bent down and kissed the princess gently on the forehead, trying not to giggle at how adorable she was when she slept. Penny stood up and got dressed quickly, before wandering outside, not knowing if anyone else was going to be awake.

To her surprise, Violet was already up, starting a fire and tending to it. She noticed Penny come out of the tent immediately, and offered her a small smile. Penny tried to return it, though she had the feeling that she had fallen embarrassingly short.

These past few weeks had been rough on her. Her and Janice, that is, though the princess seemed to be taking it rather well. Penny knew she was probably suffering more than she let on, but she was too wrapped up in her own issues right now to really dig into that. 

And that was the problem. She was being selfish. She was too caught up in her own shit that she wasn’t paying enough attention to the love of her life, not helping her through whatever she was going through to the best of her ability, but she still wasn’t making any effort to change that.

“Hey. You okay?” Violet called from the makeshift fire pit. Penny startled out of her thoughts, quickly looking back up at her and blushing.

“Yeah, sorry, I got lost in thought.” Penny rubbed the back of her neck, and started moving towards Violet, looking a bit sheepish.

“You look awfully tired for someone who just woke up.” Violet commented as she approached the fire. Penny chewed on her lower lip. How was she supposed to react to that? What was she supposed to say? What could she say without giving her insecurities away? “Did you not get a good night’s rest?” Violet asked her when she didn’t say anything in response.

Penny wasn’t sure why she did what she did next. Violet had offered her an easy out, a way to explain her bone deep exhaustion that wouldn’t cause the other girl to start prying. But for some reason, she didn’t take the opportunity. She simply sighed and slumped down to the ground, pulling her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

“Maybe, but I don’t think that’s it.” She said softly. Violet hummed, though she was looking right at Penny as she did it. An invitation to go on. “It’s really not that bad, you know. I’m probably just overreacting but…” She sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just that… ever since this started, I’ve been feeling really down in the dumps, you know? And I don’t know what to do, because I always act like I’m this happy-go-lucky girl without any cares in the world, but really, I’m not. I usually am really happy. My life was in a good spot, and I had everything I could possibly want. But it wasn’t always like that.”

“Oh really?” Violet asked, her eyes soft and understanding, gently encouraging her to go on.

“Yeah. I struggled a lot with depression back when I was a teen. Ever since Janice and I started dating, it’s gotten a lot better. She helped me through the worst of it. But there are still those bad days, I don’t think those will ever really go away. And lately, it feels like it’s just been one bad day after another. And it’s so stupid. I really shouldn’t be focusing so much on myself, I know that Janice is struggling too, she’s so overwhelmed but she’s trying to hide it, and that’s not good for her, but I can’t even help her because I’m too selfish!” Penny surprised herself by saying all of this. She had never told anyone that before, not even Janice.

Violet hummed thoughtfully. “It’s okay that you’re upset right now. This is a very upsetting situation, and we’re all a little overwhelmed. It’s okay to not be okay though, remember that. Don’t go around trying to fix others’ issues while ignoring your own. You have to help yourself before helping others. Improving the mental health of someone else at the expense of your own isn’t a sacrifice that should be made, and if anyone makes you feel like it is, then that person doesn't deserve your kindness. Your number one priority should be yourself.” She said, resting a gentle hand on Penny’s shoulder. 

Penny’s vision blurred as she felt water in her eyes build up, and she unconsciously leaned into the touch. She felt hot tears start coming down her face as everything she had been working so hard to keep locked away finally came back at full force. She didn’t think anyone had ever told her what Violet was telling her right now. Oh sure, Janice had always told her not to overwork herself, and take better care of herself, but no one else had ever really… known just how deep her issues ran. She was better at hiding her emotions than most people gave her credit for.

“Think about it this way.” Violet said, so softly it was almost a whisper. “Would Janice want you to sacrifice your own well being for hers?” Penny hesitated. She was Janice’s lady-in-waiting, it was her job to help the princess in any way she required. She was used to putting Janice before herself. But… no, Janice never asked her to do it. Actively discouraged it sometimes.

“N-no…” Penny said, her voice quiet. “She wouldn’t.”

“Then why do you feel like you have to?” Violet said, her face… sad? Concerned, or even mournful was probably a more accurate description. “Janice loves you, that much is clear. And it’s obvious that you love her just as much. You would do anything for her if she asked.”

Penny nodded. “I would.” She said. “I really would.”

“And if she asked you to take care of yourself, to put yourself first, would you do that for her as well?”

“Without question.” She replied. Janice had never asked anything unreasonable of her, and in the past she had fretted over her when she wasn’t feeling well, refused to let her work when she wasn’t up for it. Half the time she refused to let Penny leave the bed. Janice had always put her foot down when it was clear that she was struggling, and forced her to take care of herself. She… she would want Penny to put herself first in this scenario. “I… I think I understand what you’re saying now.” She said, smiling back in the direction of the tent where Janice still slept. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I’m always here if you need to talk. And my advice? I think you two should talk things out a bit. It seems like you’re both struggling, but refusing to seek help from one another because you think the other has it worse. Understanding one another will help, trust me. Repressing your emotions rarely ends well.”

Penny nodded and offered Violet a small smile, wiping the tears from her eyes. She stood up and headed back towards the tent to check on Janice.

~~~~~~

Violet watched Penny go back to her tent, a warm feeling in her chest. It was nice that she was able to help, but she kept thinking back to what she had said to Penny.

She wasn’t really sacrificing her own mental health for theirs, right? It had already been absolute shit when they had come along. In fact, them being here had maybe made it a bit better. It really made her start to think about her own habits. She was doing all of the things she had told them not to do, trying to help them when she was still very much struggling on her own. But she was happier, when they were around. They made her happy. The realization came with a jolt. She had been content with her sisters before, she loved them and liked wandering around and doing jobs. But now, she was well and truly  _ happy. _

She smiled more openly than she had in years. She was coming out of her shell, talking to them and having lengthy conversations despite the fact that she normally hated talking to people who weren’t her sisters. It was amazing what these girls could do to her.

And every time she saw one of them, she felt her heart flutter around in her chest. She imagined this was what the romantics were talking about when they mentioned butterflies in your stomach. She had never thought she’d understand what they were talking about, but yet here she was. Just being around them improved her mood so much.

Rosa and Rebekkah obviously noticed the change in her behavior, but they did nothing other than make a few remarks about it, which weren’t even jokes, they were just stating their observations. Violet was grateful for that. They didn’t even bother teasing her like they normally would.

Overall, having the princess and her lady-in-waiting around had been good for her. They were good for her. She was still thinking about this when Rosa and Rebekkah emerged from their tent an hour or so later. They had insisted on taking watch last night, as Violet had made a habit of stretching her shift longer than it should be so that they could get some more rest, as well as to soothe her own anxiety. They’d finally put their foot down and told her no.

The twins greeted her, Bekkah ruffling her hair and Rosa bumping against her shoulder on purpose, smiles on their faces. Violet began twirling a knife around in her hand, weaving it between her fingers and spinning it around in her palm. A habit she had developed some time in the past few years since she had escaped Him, which comforted her. Probably because it served as a reminder that she was capable now, she was armed, and if anyone tried to hurt her, she could fight back.

“I see someone already found breakfast.” Rosa remarked, looking at the rabbit she had put on the fire.

“Yeah…” She said, biting her lower lip. She relaxed as the three of them slipped into the familiar pattern, joking and laughing as if they had nothing to worry about. She smiled to herself. These were the people who had been with her for the worst moments of her life. Maybe she’d be able to work up the courage to talk to them someday after all.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! Violet's actually starting to realize what she's doing is unhealthy! Isn't that nice?
> 
> Let's hope things stay like this :)))))


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Developments in relationships are made!
> 
> The sisters reveal their backstory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is actually a little dark? Like not really, but still- really dark. 
> 
> CW: Mentions of non-consensual (and not particularly sexual but still) touching, blood, injury, scarring, being taken hostage, tragic backstories, repression of emotions, angst, and a tiny bit of fluff at the end.

They were getting close to the capital, and Violet was getting more and more antsy with each passing day. She tried to hide it from the others, but Janice could see it written all over her body language. Janice did her best to reassure her that nothing bad was going to happen to her, she was going to be fine, and that she could always just tell her mother what really happened if something did go wrong.

But Violet still wasn’t convinced. They were only a few days out now, and both Janice and Penny were starting to get concerned. And not just because of her nervous behavior. They had done a whole lot more talking, and yeah, turns out Violet was really good at giving advice and helping others work out their problems, but it was painfully obvious that she was ignoring her own. 

It wasn’t actually that noticeable, and if she were anyone else, maybe she wouldn’t have noticed it. She was good at hiding her feelings, Janice had to give her that. She had managed to hide it from her for weeks. But Janice did always eventually catch on, and now that she started noticing it, she couldn’t stop.

It was small things. Violet would pause before she said something, most likely either related to the gang they were rescued from or talking about issues. She’d quickly change subjects in the middle of her sentence if she realized she was getting too close to talking about her past. These small little things meant that she most likely knew she was doing it. Which in turn meant that she was intentionally suppressing her feelings, which was never a good thing.

Of course Janice had also been ignoring some of her feelings. Specifically, her growing feelings for Violet herself. It was getting to the point where it was downright distracting at some points, and Janice had finally gotten fed up with it. She had gone to Penny, and discussed the option of adding a third member to their arrangement. Penny had gotten on board with it immediately, because it was obvious that she herself was also in love with their mysterious rogue.

But circling back around to Violet’s repressed emotions, Janice had decided one night that she had had enough of it. Something needed to be done about it. She slipped out of the tent once Penny was asleep, feeling the tiniest bit guilty that she was doing this without her love knowing. But Violet needed help, and if no one else was going to give it to her, then she would do it herself.

Just like she expected, Rosalina was sitting out by the firepit they had dug out, scanning the perimeter of their camp watchfully. Janice sauntered up to her as confidently as she could, but there was an uncharacteristic hesitance about her stance. She never hesitated, why should now be any different?

“I take it you’ve noticed Violet’s behavior around you two?” Rosa said, her eyes never moving from where she was watching the rest of the forest.

Janice hummed. “I’ve noticed that she represses her emotions an unhealthy amount. It seems that she is bad at following her own advice.”

Rosa was silent for a moment. “Oh.” She said quietly. “That’s what this is about.” Janice thought it had been rather obvious this is what she wanted to talk about. What else could she think this was about? Rosa turned around, a tired look in her eyes. “Violet has a good reason to want to push her emotions away. It’s not healthy, but Rebekkah and I have been trying to get her to stop for a long time. Years, at this point. She’s been doing it pretty much since we ran away together.”

Janice sat down on one of the stones, her curiosity piquing. “You ran away together?” She said, tilting her head to the side. “I didn’t know that.”

Rosa smiled tiredly. “There’s a lot you don’t know. For example, you have no idea of how Rebekkah and I met Violet.” Janice straightened, her brow furrowing. Where was she going with this? Rosa continued as if she hadn’t noticed the reaction. “You might have worked this out beforehand, or maybe not. But Rebekkah, Violet, and I used to be a part of that group we rescued from.”

Janice recoiled, and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Doubt started to creep into her mind that they were really taking her home. Was this all just a trap? Some elaborate plot to deliver the two of them right into the hands of someone else for no other purpose than to be needlessly cruel?

“ _ Used  _ to be.” Rosalina said again. Janice hummed again let some of her suspicion slide, but she remained rigid in her posture. “None of us were there by choice. I’m not going to tell you about Violet, that’s her story to tell and she’ll tell you when she’s ready. But for us, we were raised in a pretty rural village. We were really small, our town’s population was probably no more than a hundred. Everyone knew everyone, it was a really close knit community.” Her voice turned distant and wistful. Ah.

“But something happened, didn’t it?” Janice prodded, her voice a mixture of sympathetic, understanding, and curious.

Rosa nodded. “We were attacked by the bandit group. They killed nearly everyone. We were the last family they came for, and Bekkah and I…” Her voice grew thicker, but Janice politely ignored it, along with how she looked like she was on the verge of tears. Something told her Rosa wouldn’t appreciate drawing attention to it. “We had a little sister. Alexandra, or Alex, as we all called her. Bekkah and I offered ourselves up to them in exchange for letting our family live. They agreed, and surprisingly, they upheld their end of the bargain. They let our family go. And Bekkah and I… went back with them to their headquarters. We haven’t seen our family since.”

“I see.” Janice said, trying to process this information. “I’m very sorry that happened to you.” She tried to think of something else to say, something that would offer some level of comfort to her. “My mother had been trying to track down that group for years, but they were always too good at hiding. They were the cause of many stress headaches. Then one day they just sort of… disappeared. Like, they were still committing crimes, but they were smaller, and all of a sudden they just weren’t as big a threat anymore. Something happened to them that absolutely decimated them, and we still aren’t sure of what said thing was.”

“Ah.” Rosa laugh-coughed into her hand. “We may or may not have had something to do with that, actually.” 

Janice’s eyebrows flew into her hairline. “Oh do tell~” She said playfully, a sly grin spreading across her face.

Rosa laughed. “Well, when we arrived at their headquarters, there was only one other girl. I’ll give you one guess as to who it was.” Janice laughed. Rosa chuckled along with her, but then dropped her smile and grew more serious. “She was their medic, of sorts, and a pretty talented one at that. She was… really different back then.  _ Really  _ different.

“We saw that some of the guys were harassing her, and decided to introduce ourselves. She was kind of wary at first, but we are persistent. She grew to love us eventually.” A mischievous smile spread across her face, but again she dropped it within a few seconds. “Then… something really bad happened. We had to get Violet out of there, and fast, so we robbed them, and just took off running. Violet changed her style, asked us to teach her how to fight, and now she could soundly kick my ass.”

Janice didn’t ask what happened, or prod for details on the suspiciously vague story. If the scars on Violet’s face were any indication, it probably wasn’t something they liked to talk about. “And how did this lead to you managing to dethrone one of the biggest threats in the kingdom?”

The smile slowly returned to Rosa’s face. “We… sort of went on a vengeance spree.” She said, giggling. “Within two and a half months of us leaving, eight of their buildings were blown up. Another month and half and they ceased to be a threat entirely.” 

Janice’s eyes went wide. “That many?” 

Rosa nodded. “Both of my sisters are insane. They live for the chaos.” She said, sounding tired and fond at the same time. “We were careful though. We took every precaution to limit civilian casualties as much as possible when the buildings we were targeting were within towns or cities.”

Janice nodded, a grin on her face. She thought over everything Rosa had just told her, and chewed on her lower lip as she processed it. “So Violet’s repression issues stem from what happened on that fateful day, huh?” She asked.

Rosa’s expression sobered. “Yeah, that’s where it all began. Even Bekkah and I don’t have the entire story, even if we do have most of it. We just remember bursting into the room and…” She trailed off, and Janice could feel her closing herself off. This was as much as she was going to get for now, and she wasn’t going to bother Rosa trying to get details for a story that clearly made her at least semi-uncomfortable.

“Thank you for telling me this, Rosa.” Janice said, her voice gentle. “It must have been hard to talk about it.” She smiled. “I’m going to head back to bed now before Penny wakes up and panics because I’m gone. I’ll see you in the morning, goodnight.”

“Goodnight Janice.” Rosa said. Right as she reached her tent and was reaching for the flap, Rosa called out again. “Hey wait!” Janice stopped. There were a few moments of silence as Rosa tried to collect her thoughts. “Violet has never latched onto anyone like she’s latched onto you guys. She likes you a lot, and she wants to get closer to you. Whatever happened, she won’t talk about it with me or Rebekkah. But she might open up to you.” She took a deep breath. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… thank you for caring so much about her.”

Janice lowered her eyes to the ground and smiled softly. “Violet has a lot going on inside of her head. I want to help her sort it all out, and be there for her when she needs someone to talk to.” Without another word, she slipped back into her tent, and settled down beside Penny.

Janice ended up sleeping in later than she usually did, though when questioned by Violet and Penny, she just brushed it off and said she had a hard time falling asleep last night. It was a half truth, and the others hadn’t questioned her on it. She had stayed up much later after her talk with Rosa, thinking about what could have happened to make Violet so closed off.

Now Janice was wondering how exactly she was going to bring this up with Violet. Her best chance was to get her alone, like in the inn room. But when they were in the woods, and the closest city was the capital, that was a bit hard. 

Violet was almost always with her sisters, just acting like nothing was wrong, when everyone here knew that it most certainly was not. Penny had caught onto her behavior as well, she was too emotionally intelligent to miss it, no matter how hard Violet tried to hide it. The difference was that she was willing to leave it alone, while Janice knew that she would never come around on her own. Something had to be done.

So how was she going to talk to Violet? Well, Rosa knew what she was planning, and offered her an opportunity. The only times the twins left without Violet was to go hunting, as someone needed to stay behind and watch the camp, and they usually alternated who that was. This time, even though it should have been Rosa and Violet that went out, Rosalina dragged a somewhat confused Rebekkah along with her, promising to be back as soon as possible and leaving before anyone could protest.

Which left just Violet, Penny, and Janice alone in the camp, awkwardly standing around in silence.

“That was weird.” Penny commented. “I thought those two were the ones who went last time?”

“They were.” Violet said, her voice already suspicious. “It should have been me this time. They’re planning something, I can feel it. Whatever it is, someone’s going to wind up soaked in water by the end of the day.”

“Actually.” Janice stepped in. “I was hoping to talk to you alone today. That’s why I asked the two of them to go ahead without you.” Technically, that wasn’t true, but Violet didn’t know that. 

Violet raised an eyebrow. “You could have just asked me. I’m always willing to talk to you. What do you need?”

“It’s not about what I need.” Janice said softly. “And if I’d asked, I don’t think you would have said yes.” Violet narrowed her eyes, suspicious once more. Janice sighed and gestured to the firepit. “I think we should all be sitting down for this conversation.” 

They all walked over to the firepit and sat down on the stones next to one another, Penny casting a glance at her. She knew what was about to happen, Janice had filled her in on everything she had been told, and what she was going to do. Penny hadn’t been approving necessarily, but she agreed that this was probably the best way to get her to open up.

“Violet, you know that you can talk to us, right?” Janice said when everyone was settled. Violet went rigid immediately, her eyes widening. Clearly she had not been expecting that. “I can tell something is up. We both can. Something is bothering you. Something has been bothering you, ever since you showed up and swept us off our feet. Literally.” 

Violet opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her mind was reeling, and she couldn’t collect her thoughts enough to form a sentence. Janice could tell just from her face, and she took that as her opportunity to continue on. “And don’t lie to us about it. Don't just say that you’re fine and try to move on. Your sister, Rosa… told me a few things last night. She wasn’t terribly specific but… she told me how you met.”

Violet’s eyes sparked with barely concealed panic. “She… she did?” Her voice sounded pitifully quiet, which made Janice’s heart twist in her chest. She was scared her sister had betrayed her trust. “Then… did she tell you about…” She brought her hand up to the scar at the corner of her mouth, clearly remembering something she would rather forget.

“No.” Janice said gently. “She didn’t tell me anything about how you got your scars, or why you were in the bandit camp, or really anything of your side of the story. Just that you three met at their headquarters, something happened, you three had to run away, and that’s where all of your issues with confronting your emotions are coming from.”

Violet mumbled something under her breath, and Janice caught a few words, but not much. Not enough for it to sound like anything coherent. It seemed like she wasn’t trying to say anything to her though, so she didn’t ask Violet to repeat herself, and Violet didn’t repeat it on her own, so Janice moved on.

“Violet, you’ve said it yourself, pushing your own emotions away isn’t healthy. It isn’t good for you and it needs to stop.” Janice reached out and grabbed Violet’s hand, surprised when she didn’t pull away, and instead squeezed her hand. “You’re hurting yourself.” She said pleadingly.

“I know.” Violet said quietly. The admission took Janice by surprise. She thought it was going to be harder than that. “I know that it’s unhealthy, I really do. But at this point it’s been so long, it just seems easier to ignore it than to bring it up again. Part of me really does want to talk about it, but I know that if I ever try, the emotions will get too much. I’ll just end up worse than I was before.”

Janice frowned, still not letting go of Violet’s hand. “I know it feels that way. But sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better. I don’t want to force you to relive your worst moments, but hasn’t this gone on for long enough? You’re going to destroy yourself with all these bottled up emotions. So even if you don’t feel like you could ever recover from it, please. Just tell us what’s going on. We want to help you, but we can’t do that if you don’t let us in.”

Violet swallowed. “The twins say the exact same thing.” She said, her gray eyes getting shiny as she looked down at the ground. “I’ve wanted to talk to them for so long, but it’s just… hard, you know?” She frowned. “I thought I was getting better but… then you guys showed up at their base. And…  _ he  _ was there, and seeing Him, and you guys, who had also suffered by His hand… it really brought up some old memories.”

Penny raised an eyebrow. “Who?” She asked, her eyes wide.

Violet paused, and looked up at Penny. “I…” She tried to say something, but it looked like the words got stuck in her throat. She cleared her throat and flushed ever so slightly. “I guess I should start from the beginning.” She said, rubbing the back of her neck.

“The thing about starting from the beginning.” Janice said. “Is that everyone has a different idea of where that is. So start wherever you feel is best for telling the story, or whatever point you are comfortable sharing.” 

Violet laughed a little, though her eyes were tired. “Well, unlike the twins, I always knew that I was going to end up as part of the bandit group. I didn’t want to be, but my father was a part of it, and he thought I could make a great asset for them. Back then I was… really different, as I’m sure Rosa probably told you. I couldn’t fight, I was a lot quieter but at the same time more outgoing. I kept my hair long, wore dresses, and was generally a lot more feminine. I was raised to be that way. In a lot of ways… I was actually really similar to Penny.” She frowned, looking down at her hands. “It was exactly who my father wanted me to be.”

When she stayed silent for a few more minutes, Janice spoke up. “Rosa mentioned that you were like the medic for the bandit group, and that you were not the most well respected member among them.”

Violet nodded. “I was. I was considered pretty back then, so there were always eyes on me. When I turned fifteen my father thought it was time I started working for them, and got assigned to their headquarters. As for the harassment, they usually didn’t do much more than say things that were aimed to hurt me. None of them actually ever did anything to me, though after the twins came, everyone kind of gave me a wide berth. Especially after Rebekkah bashed in the kneecaps of some guy who tried to hit me.” 

Janice snorted, and Penny looked halfway between laughing and crying out in horror. Violet smirked at the memory. “Yeah, they were pretty fierce when it came to protecting me. Eventually though, I attracted the attention of the new head of the bandits. He was a few years older than me back then, like seventeen or eighteen, I think, and a lot bigger. You guys met him, I’m pretty sure.”

Janice nodded. “I remember their leader. What a slimy man. He threatened Penny to get me to behave. I despised him on sight.”

“As you should.” Violet said, shaking her head. “He was… intense. He fell in love with me and wouldn’t take no for an answer, not even when the twins threatened to bust his head open. He just threatened them right back. Eventually he went straight to my father, who offered him my hand in marriage. He was a horrible fiance to say the least, constantly ordering me around and thinking himself better than I was. He was just a huge asshole in general, and was constantly touching me. Not in a loving or affectionate way, but in a way that claimed me as his. Reminded me of the control he had over me.”

Penny looked stunned. Janice on the other hand, was barely concealing her anger. She was starting to get a good idea of where this story was heading and she did not like it one bit.

“Then one day… he took it too far. Yelled at me a bit too much, told me that I belonged to him and him alone, asked too much of me. I snapped. I screamed at him, told him off, just started throwing all of my frustrations at him because I didn’t know what else to do. I was tired, and stuck in this stupid engagement with this man who was nothing but horrible to me. He… didn’t take it well.” She brushed her hand across the scar on her mouth.

Penny’s expression grew horrified. “Violet, please don’t tell me he…”

Violet gritted her teeth. “He did.” She said. “He just grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him, picked up the knife and slowly gave me the scar on my eye. He wasn’t even quick about it, he was intentionally being as slow as he could. I remember, there was blood on the knife, blood on his hand, blood on my face and then…” Her eyes grew haunted. “He told me I didn’t smile enough. My smile was one of the things that attracted him to me, and so I had stopped doing it, started hating it. He didn’t like that. So he tried to give me a permanent smile. ”

Janice clenched her fist, her nails digging into her palm. She focused on that pain, instead of the hot rage boiling inside of her, just beneath the surface. Horror, sympathy, and anger were warring on Penny’s face, her eyes filling with tears.

“Rosa and Bekkah heard me screaming though.” Violet continued, a bit of fondness slipping into her voice. “They busted down the door before he could do both sides of my mouth. Bekkah knocked him out with her morningstar. I’m sure they would have liked to kill him right then and there, but they decided it was more important to get me out of there. So they did. They helped me treat my wounds, they taught me to fight, supported me as my style shifted, and were always there for me. I only got where I am today because of them. I owe them everything.”

The three of them lapsed into silence for a long time. None of them knew quite what to say after everything Violet had just revealed. And really, what were they supposed to say? “I’m so sorry” Or “That’s horrible?” No amount of words would ever properly describe the emotions rolling around inside of Janice and Penny right at that moment. 

Finally, when the silence became unbearable, Penny spoke. “You’re still pretty, you know.” She said, her voice the quietest Janice had ever heard it yet still so loud in the quiet of the forest.

“What?” Violet said, snapping out of whatever stupor she was in and turning her head to look at Penny with a bewildered expression.

“You’re still pretty.” Penny repeated. “You said ‘I was considered pretty back then,’ like you don’t think you are anymore. Like having scars made you ugly all of a sudden. You don’t… actually think that, do you?”

Violet’s silence was all the answer they needed. Penny made a distressed noise, and Violet hunched over her shoulders.“Well… don’t they?” She asked hesitantly. 

“No!” Penny said, eyes wide. “If anything they make you look really cool! Scars don’t make you ugly. Scars are stories, proof that you went through hell and back and survived. I can’t tell you how to feel about them but… I really like them. And I know for a fact that just because your face is scarred, it doesn’t make it any less beautiful.”

“I agree.” Janice cut in, smiling and resisting the urge to reach out and touch Violet’s face. “They give you a rather mysterious quality that is, if we’re being honest, very hot.” 

Violet flushed bright red. “Stooooooop.” She groaned, burying her face in her hands.

“Noo! Don’t hide your face from us!” Penny gently grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her face, kissing her nose. 

Janice watched the two of them flirt casually, feeling a tightness in her chest. She wasn’t sure that this was a good time to ask her, but chances are they wouldn’t get another chance, and Janice wasn’t going to take that risk.

“You know Violet.” Janice said, remembering the conversation between her and Penny they had had just the previous day. “Penny and I have been discussing the possibility of adding a third member to our arrangement recently. You, specifically. I know we just had a serious talk, but I’d like to end it on a lighter note. Violet Storm, I am in love with you, and if you so choose, I would be honored if you would become mine and Penny’s second girlfriend.” Ugh, she hated using formal court language, but it did get her meaning across without any chance for misunderstandings.

The confession took Violet off guard, and she and Penny blinked at her in surprise, though Janice noticed that Penny still had not let go of Violet’s hands. She hadn’t expected Janice to bring it up now, but she didn’t seem opposed to it. 

Violet looked completely shocked, like she couldn’t believe someone would actually say that to her. It made a part of Janice ache, that she would think that lowly of herself, but she ignored it. If she accepted, there would be plenty of time to show her just how wonderful and appreciated she really was.

“Are… are you serious?” She asked, looking bewildered.

“I’m always serious.” Janice replied, a sly smirk slipping onto her face. Violet turned to Penny, looking at her as if for confirmation, or perhaps rejection.

“Hey sweetie, I’ve been crushing on you since basically day one. If you’re looking for an objection you aren’t going to find one here. I’d love to have you, if you’re okay with it.” She said, smiling sweetly. 

“I…” Violet seemed well and truly at a loss of words, which was quite rare for the woman. She always seemed to have something snarky or sassy to say. “Are you sure?”

Janice smiled and nodded, and Penny giggled. “Well of course we are, honey!” She replied, her bright grin growing in size. “You have become an incredibly important part of our lives these past couple of months. You’re really sweet and kind and a total badass. We’d love to have you in our relationship.”

“Of course, there’s no pressure.” Janice cut in gently. “If you don’t want this, then you are under no obligation to accept. This is entirely your choice, and we will not be upset with you if you choose to decline.”

This stunned Violet even more. Janice could almost see her thought process. This was the most transparent she had ever been. It took her several moments to come up with something to say. “No, I… I do want it. This, I mean.” She said haltingly. “If you’re sure that you’re okay with it…” Penny and Janice both nodded. “Then… yeah. I’ve wanted this for a while now. So, we can give it a try.”

“Oh sweetie.” Penny said, her face melting into one of the softest expressions Janice had ever seen on her love, which was really saying something. “Can I kiss you?” She asked.

Violet hesitated for the slightest second, before nodding, and then Penny’s lips were on hers. It was a short kiss, and a light one. Clearly Penny didn't want to go too far after everything they had just been told, which was smart, and when she pulled away, Janice immediately did the same, being careful to look for any body language that said that she was uncomfortable. She found none.

“That was… nice.” Violet said softly when she pulled away. “I liked that.”

“I’m glad.” Janice said, her voice low and barely above a whisper, and then they kissed again.

~~~~~~

When the twins came back from hunting, they saw the three of them snuggled up with one another, Penny’s head in Virgo’s lap and Janice’s on her shoulder.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The threesome is now together! :D
> 
> I'm probably going to have two or three more chapters at the very most. Maybe a filler chapter, though probably not because fillers are not my specialty, a final plot point, and then a conclusion.
> 
> Thank you all for reading this far, and for your support, it means the world to me <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! There is a misunderstanding, and then Violet meets her girlfriend's mom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Misunderstandings, being arrested, brief mentions of a panic attack

The guards really had come out of nowhere. Janice still wasn’t sure how this had happened, but somehow, it had. They had gotten to the capital, and Janice had been ecstatic to finally be home. So had Penny. Violet on the hand, had been incredibly anxious about entering the city. She had wanted to say goodbye right then and there, and avoid going in altogether. Janice had promised everything would be fine, and insisted that they come to the castle with them to make sure everything got sorted out. 

Violet had clearly been opposed to the idea, but she had relented, wanting to make sure the two of them got there safely, and also not quite willing to leave them just yet. But then the situation had quickly grown out of control.

The guards all knew what she looked like, this was not the case anywhere else, but they definitely were likely to recognize her here because she had met almost all of them at one point or another. They had correctly assumed she had been taken from the carriage when they found the scene that had been left behind by the bandits, and of course told the royal couple, so an intense reaction to her arrival was to be expected. But they seemed to have misunderstood  _ who _ had taken her and Penny. 

Of course, Violet and the twins really could have taken them all down at any point during the fight, but the entire time they were stuck in a gray area of not wanting to hurt anyone but also needing to defend themselves. It was that uncertainty of how far they could go without actually harming the guards that led to their defeat.

Janice and Penny had been whisked away from the scene immediately, the guards fawning over them and asking if they were okay, but not before Janice had caught a glimpse of the pure terror on Violet’s face. Guilt washed over her, and Janice started to think that maybe it was selfish to ask the three of them to accompany them into the city. They would have been perfectly safe without them, and she knew that being here made Violet uncomfortable. She had just wanted her mother to meet them in person, but hadn’t even considered that something might go wrong.

One of the guards was sent ahead to tell the queen they had found her daughter, while meanwhile Penny was desperately trying to get back to the others, and Janice was trying to explain the situation to the guards. None of them were listening. 

Frustrated, she had given up, knowing she’d have to take this issue right to the queen. She’d fix this, and then hopefully Violet would be able to forgive her for this oversight. 

Now they were at the front gate of the castle, where her mother’s head advisor, Nina Flores, was waiting for her. Nina was like a second mother to Janice, she and her real mother had been carrying out a not-so-secret relationship that basically everyone in court was privy to for years now. The woman’s face broke out into a relieved smile upon seeing the two of them, and she ran over to them, putting a hand on each of their faces.

“Janice, Penny, oh my gosh. We were so scared for you. Your mother is anxious to see you again. She wanted to come out here and wait with me, but she’s still in a meeting with her advisors. I’m so glad you two are okay. I don’t know what any of us would have done if you weren’t.” Nina never addressed Janice by her title, only occasionally calling her “princess,” which was more a joke than anything else. Janice didn’t particularly care, even if some of the courtiers thought it improper. 

“And of course, Luna has been worried sick about you as well. I don’t know if she has been informed of your return yet, but she’s going to be ecstatic. She’s been distracted ever since you were reported as missing, and hasn’t been able to focus on her studies at all!” Nina gestured to the doors behind her.

Janice nodded, allowing a small smile to come across her face, but not for long. “I need to see my mother.” She said, looking Nina dead in the eye. “Right now.” 

Nina frowned, furrowing her brow. “I just said she’s in a meeting. She should be done soon, and I understand you must be anxious to see her but-”

“It’s important. Is she in the throne room?” Janice asked, uncharacteristically serious. Nina nodded, seemingly thrown off balance by her behavior. “Good.” With that, she pushed past the advisor and headed straight into the castle, with Penny hot on her heels. Gritting her teeth, she tried not to feel like she had failed the others, but the feelings still came anyway. She had failed to consider the possibility of the guards misunderstanding the situation, and brushed off Violet’s fear for her own selfish reasons.

Penny reached out and squeezed her hand in an attempt to be reassuring, giving her a tired smile that neither of them believed one bit. Still, Janice appreciated the attempt, even though she knew Penny must have her own inner turmoil.

Suddenly, a tall figure came barreling around the corner and crashed straight into Janice, wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace. Janice found herself smiling despite herself at the young woman’s unusual display of emotion, seeing as she was normally very reserved.

“It’s good to see you too, Luna.” Janice chuckled. Despite the multiple emotions rolling around inside of her, she really was happy to see her friend. Luna was the librarian’s daughter, and one of the smartest people Janice knew. She was selected by Janice’s mother to be Luna’s head advisor, because the two of them had grown up together, and she more than fit the qualifications.

She was quite tall, taller than Janice by at least four inches though maybe not as tall as the twins, and had curly black hair that billowed over her shoulders. She had dark eyes and wore a simple dark blue and white dress.

“You are in serious trouble, Your Highness.” Luna said, pulling back with a scowl that Janice could see through easily. “Do you know the kind of stress you put your mother through? The poor woman hasn’t slept a wink since your carriage was found.” 

“Sure, it was definitely  _ just _ my mother. You totally weren’t worried at all.” She teased slightly, before sighing and shaking her head. “It wasn’t exactly my fault.”

“Not your fault? I believe I told you  _ multiple times _ not to take that route, you  _ know _ it is quite infamous for the sheer number of robberies that take place.” Luna huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

“Okay okay, you were right about that. We should have gone another way or at least brought more guards along with us, happy?” She raised an eyebrow, and Luna’s scowl didn’t budge, but Janice could see there was no real heat behind it. “Luna, we’ll have to catch up later, because right now, there’s something I need to do, and it’s really important.” She continued walking down the halls, not at all surprised when her friend continued after her.

“I was told that you were found with three women, who attacked the guards after they recognized you.” Luna said, and Janice sneered at the complete and utter bullshit the guards had spewed to the others. Surely Luna didn’t believe that? She was smart enough not to believe the first thing she heard. As if she had read her mind, Luna continued. “That can’t be the full story. I know that if there were only three people guarding you, you would have escaped a long time ago. And there is no reason your captors should have come to the capital, not only would they have to be incredibly stupid, but there was nothing they could hope to gain from it. They hadn’t sent any messages demanding a ransom, after all. So what really happened to you two?”

Janice stopped outside the throne room doors, giant polished wood with an intricate pattern carved into it, and turned to her friend. “Like I said, I’ll explain later. But right now those girls are in serious trouble and if I don’t do something about it, they’ll end up charged with a crime they didn’t commit.” With that, she pushed open the doors and stormed into the throne room.

One of the advisors froze mid sentence as she entered, and she could see it took a few seconds for who she was to register in their heads without her usual finery. The advisor’s face contorted into irritation and a bit of anger that drained away the moment he realized who he was staring at.

He dropped into a bow at the waist, and her mother was now standing up, looking at her like she had seen a ghost. To her, it probably was a similar sensation. Looking around, Janice didn’t see her father, so she assumed he was out visiting somewhere. Probably to keep his mind off of his missing daughter. He was often the one that traveled to other kingdoms and made negotiations, while her mother stayed in the kingdom to keep everything running smoothly.

“We need to talk.” She growled. Those were not the first words she had wanted to say to her mother when she reunited, but nothing about this day was going how she thought it would go. “Alone.” 

Her mother nodded, still looking pale, and gestured for all the advisors to leave. They all got up and filed out the doors, and Luna and Penny left as well, leaving Janice alone with her mom. 

“Janice.” Her mother said when the doors were shut. And then she ran down the steps of the dais, her hands clutching her skirt, and swallowed her daughter in an embrace. “You have no idea how scared I was. When I heard your carriage had been abandoned and your guards were all dead… I freaked out. I didn’t know what would happen to you and we hadn’t heard anything for weeks on end, or maybe more, I lost track of time. I’m just… so glad that you’re okay.”

“I know.” Janice said, looking the queen in her eyes. “I missed you so much.” Part of Janice was tempted to just stay here, not moving, for hours, and just cherish the first moments with her mother in so long, but she knew that the longer she waited, the longer Violet was going to suffer. She was most likely having a full on panic attack by now.

“Mom.” She said, pulling back. “What did they tell you about my return?”

“That you were found with three women who attacked when you were recognized. Those women were arrested, and are now awaiting judgement from me. You and Penny were rescued and taken straight to the castle after you were discovered.” She frowned. “I believe that was it.”

Janice shook her head. “That story is completely inaccurate. The guards attacked first, not the women, and they were just trying to defend themselves. The entire time they were trying their best not to hurt them. The guards jumped to conclusions and refused to listen to me when I tried to explain the situation.” Frustration leaked into her tone as she mentioned this. She hated being ignored.

The queen frowned. “Really? Well then, what  _ did _ happen?”

Janice took a deep breath. If her mother didn’t believe her… “Those three women we were seen with rescued Penny and I from the group that attacked our carriage. The ones who kidnapped us were actually members of that group of bandits that mysteriously disappeared one day, who seemed to be attempting to regain power and recognition after their downfall by making a deal with Eagra.” Her mother tensed at the mention of Eagra, but didn’t say anything, so Janice kept going. 

“The three of them agreed to take us back to the castle, and expected no reward. Considering the rather unfortunate manner of our first meeting, they actually suspected that they’d be arrested for kidnapping the princess. Rightfully so, it seems.” She left out the fact that it was mostly Violet who had feared that. The raw terror on her face when facing down the guards flashed through her head again, but she did her best to ignore it.

“They are innocent, they helped us so much, and Penny and I have become very close to them. Especially one of them, Violet, who we…” She trailed off and felt heat rise to her face. Though her blush wasn’t very obvious against her olive skin, her mother must have seen either that, or the shift in body language.

“Ah, I see.” Amusement laced the queen’s tone. “You leave the palace, get kidnapped, and come back with a second girlfriend. Why am I not surprised?” She laughed. “I’ll see to it that they are taken care of and given the credit they deserve.” Janice let out a breath of relief at her mother’s words, sure that she would take care of it. 

“Thank you.” She said, the emotions coursing through her veins so strong she almost felt like she was going to collapse. Fortunately, her mother was still holding onto her, and kept her steady. 

“You’re quite welcome, my dear.” Tammy replied, stroking her hair. “Now, you should probably clean up and get changed, sweetheart. We’ll hold a party tonight to celebrate your return.” 

“Tonight?” Janice asked, raising an eyebrow. “How do you plan to get everything ready in time?”

“It won’t be many people, just our closest friends and advisors. A small banquet of sorts. We’ll have another, bigger party next week for everyone else.” There was a mischievous look in her eye when she said that, a hint of something beyond the warmth and compassion she radiated. Her grin had the same spark.

“Alright then.” Janice reluctantly left her mother’s arms. Queen Tammy started walking to the doors, and threw them open, where the advisors were all still waiting. The queen sent an advisor down to where Violet and the twins were being held immediately, before turning to the others.

“I believe the miraculous return of our princess is a good enough reason to postpone the rest of our meeting until a later date.” The advisors all cracked a grin, and a few chuckled. “Go get some rest, I will call on you if I need anything else.” She smiled at them and made a shooing motion with her hand, and the rest of the advisors dispersed. 

Janice sauntered down the hallway towards her room, glad that she was finally home.

~~~~~~

Violet was having a panic attack. No- wait, describing what she was feeling as a panic attack would be underselling it. It felt like her worst fears had come true, because first they had been ambushed by guards after spotting the princess, Janice and Penny had been separated before they could get a chance to explain, and she and her sisters had been escorted straight to the castle dungeons. 

Violet had tried to calm herself down by saying that Janice and Penny would sort out the mess, and things would get resolved soon enough, but it wasn’t working. In truth, she had been having nightmares like this. And the closer they had gotten, the more intense they were. They were nightmares where she was caught, where she and her sisters were executed, and the princess and her lady-in-waiting did nothing to stop them. 

Realistically, she knew that her new girlfriends would never do that, but anxiety isn’t exactly logical. She was having a hard time convincing herself that everything was going to be okay, even though she knew it already.

They had to have been in there for less than an hour before they were moved again, but it felt like an eternity. Her sisters hadn’t known how to calm her down, hell, she didn’t think anyone, not even Penny or Janice, could have calmed her down in that moment, and Rosa and Bekkah were stressed out because she was stressed out.

Apparently, the queen had requested to see them. So now they were being led up, out of the dungeons, and to the throne room, with no guards surrounding them, just an advisor. It looked like Janice and Penny had pulled through. 

At some point, two other young women joined them. Violet’s face lit up as she recognized one of them as Penny. She had been cleaned up and was now wearing a flowy light blue dress, with her bouncy curls tied back with a matching ribbon. The other one looked almost like a complete opposite to Penny, as she was tall, with black curly hair and a dark blue dress.

“Janice took care of everything.” Penny whispered, reaching out and grabbing her hand. “You should have seen her, she was furious! I’ve rarely ever seen her that angry before. She’s also really really sorry this whole thing ever happened. We both are, we probably should have seen this coming. She feels really guilty about forcing you to come into the city with her, but… at least everything has been worked out by now.”

Part of Violet wanted to be mad at the two of them for letting this happen, but… she knew that wouldn’t be fair. It wasn’t like they could have stopped it, they were removed from the situation before they could. And she couldn’t stay mad at Penny or Janice, really.

“Who’s the other girl?” Violet asked, jerking her head towards the other young lady walking beside them. Violet could see that Rosalina was absolutely entranced by her. She kept staring at her while also trying to avoid staring at her, and her dark skin had a slight tint to it, nearly invisible. It was very amusing to watch.

“That’s Luna, Janice’s future advisor. She’s really really smart, and Janice asked her and I to make sure everything went smoothly. We didn’t want another situation on our hands.” Penny smiled apologetically after her last statement, and stopped talking as they reached a grand set of doors.

The advisor pushed them open, and Violet peered into the throne room. There were three thrones, supposedly one for each of the royals. However the only one occupied was the one in the center, the one reserved for the queen. 

Queen Thomasina Sanders was known for being compassionate and generous towards her subjects, and the way Janice had talked about her while they were traveling together made her feel more human, less like a queen and more like a mother. Now though, she cut an impressive and intimidating figure sitting on the throne. 

She was dressed in a long pale pink dress with a wide neckline, but she wore no crown. There was no mistaking her though, she  _ looked _ like a queen, even without jewelry. 

“Thank you for bringing them, I can take it from here.” The advisor bowed and left the room, leaving the three of them with the queen, as well as Penny and Luna. Penny squeezed her hand again, and the queen rose from her seat, walking down the steps and coming towards them with a gentle smile on her face. 

“My daughter tells me that you three are the reason she and Penny escaped from the bandits.” She said, her voice soft. 

Violet shifted awkwardly, looking to her sisters to see if they wanted to say anything and spoke up when it became clear neither of the twins intended to. “I… suppose so, Your Majesty.”

“Well, the entire kingdom thanks you.” The queen said, her smile never leaving her face. “And I am so sorry about the mishap. I promise you the guards responsible for this will be held accountable for their actions, and for acting without thinking like they did. Are any of you injured from the fight?”

“No, Your Majesty. We are fine.” Rosa said, seeming to find her voice. “And… thank you.”

“Of course.” She said. “I know that my daughter and her girlfriend have become very close to you all.” Her eyes lingered on Violet as she said that, and Violet felt her face heat up. “And I hope you’ll stay around for a while. I could find you jobs, if you wanted, perhaps high ranking positions in the guard?” 

Violet’s eyes widened at the offer. She knew that the twins had wanted to be in the guard when they were little, before they were taken. And being in the guard meant that they’d probably get to see a lot more of Janice and Penny. But… she wasn’t sure if she wanted it. The whole point of them being rogues is that they weren’t held back by any rules, or any obligations. They were free to go wherever they wanted whenever they wanted. Did she really want to give that up?

If the twins wanted it, then she would stay with them, obviously, but… She could see on her sisters’ faces that they were having similar thoughts.

“Thank you for the offer, Your Majesty.” Rosalina said, smiling a little in an uncertain way. “We’ll think about it and let you know.” 

The queen nodded. “Of course. Tonight I’ll be holding a small banquet to celebrate Janice’s return home. If you are up for it, I’d like you three to attend as the guests of honor. We owe you a great debt, and I look forward to getting to know the three of you better.” Again, her eyes lingered on Violet.

Oh, of course she knew about that. She really should have expected this when she went and fell in love with the princess and her lady-in-waiting. She blushed, and the queen laughed softly.

“Penny? Can you show them to their rooms darling?” She asked, a grin on her face. Penny nodded excitedly and pulled Violet towards the door. Rebekkah and Rosa followed after them, though Rosa’s gaze lingered on Luna for another few seconds before they left. 

A few days later, Violet, Rebekkah, and Rosa were packing to leave. The queen had accepted their answer with grace, and hadn’t even tried to change their minds when they told her they didn’t want to accept the jobs she offered. She provided them with ample supplies and horses for their journey, and wished them well. Part of Violet wanted to stay there forever, but she was an adventurer at heart, just like her sisters, and maybe one day she’d settle down, but for now, she longed to see more of the world.

She was going to miss her new girlfriends while she was gone, but she had no intention of staying away forever. She fastened the strap on her horse’s saddle and smiled, feeling a bit bitter sweet about what she was about to do. 

Then two people came running out the front entrance, looking surprised and a little frazzled. “Violet!” Janice called, running down the steps. Penny was right behind her, and they both came to a stop in front of her. “Mom told us you declined her offer.”

“Oh, yeah…” Was Janice going to be unhappy about that? Would she try to force Violet to stay? Violet tried to think that she wouldn’t be, but she was still getting used to the whole “healthy romantic relationships” thing. “The twins and I decided that we wanted to continue traveling for a while. We were going to leave after lunch.” Janice looked a little disappointed by that, but didn’t say anything.

“Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?” Penny asked, wilting a little bit. 

Violet felt a small spike of panic, and quickly shook her head. “No, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it, I just couldn’t find a good time. I was going to talk to you guys after we finished packing. I’d never just leave like that.” 

Janice sighed. “Well, it’s not like we can really stop you. The heart wants what it wants, after all.” She smiled, looking a bit sad. “You will be coming back at some point, right?” She asked, looking a little scared of the answer. “We’d miss you a lot.”

“Of course.” Violet said, smiling. “I’ll be back. I just want to see more of the world, you know? I’ll visit you guys as much as I can, I promise.” Janice smiled, satisfied with the answer, and though she hid it quickly, Violet could see a hint of relief in her eyes. She… had actually been worried about it, hadn’t she?

“I’ll miss you too.” She added, feeling a lump start to form in her throat. “You two did a lot for me. You did what the twins could never do in four years. I… I love you both. So much. And… yeah.” She finished lamely. 

The two of them melted at her words, and Janice pulled her into a long, deep kiss. After she let go, Penny did the same. They spent the rest of the morning together, spending their last few hours with one another before Violet and her sisters left. 

When it was time for them to leave, the goodbyes took a good ten minutes. Rosa and Bekkah teased her about it, until Violet fired back with a statement about how much time she had spent in the library with Luna. That shut them up, or at least, it shut Rosa up. 

They rode off into the distance, with Violet throwing glances over her shoulder every few seconds. They had been through a lot, and some might even say that this was the end of their story, though in reality, they couldn’t be more wrong.

She would be back. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow!! Gosh, this is actually the first chaptered fic I've ever completed on this site I think! My other two ongoing projects are starting to near a close, but they're not quite there yet.
> 
> If you guys have read this far, thank you so so so so so so much for sticking around until the end, I know I'm not very consistent with uploads, I have a very busy life but writing is something I love to do.
> 
> I love you all so much!
> 
> I do have an idea for a sequel, but as of now, I don't think I'll get started on it any time soon. I have other projects I want to start that I've been really excited for, however, you can definitely expect at least a couple one shots set in this universe at some point. 
> 
> Thank you again for sticking with me, I love reading comments and seeing those emails from AO3 is one of the highlights of my day.
> 
> <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3
> 
> And I'll say it again, go check out Canadiantardis's fic "The Ambush" if you haven't already!! It inspired this whole thing and this story is literally just a continuation from her work! I love her so much <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <3
> 
> I'm always open to constructive criticism, it is how I improve my writing.


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